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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · chair · ground · snap · club · rest · spring · fall

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fall — to drop
  3. club — for dancing
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. club — for golf
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ground — a position
  10. row — to paddle
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ground — the earth
  16. rest — a break
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. row — a line
  19. club — a group
  20. chair — a leader
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fall — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com