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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 124 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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Word bank
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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: club · firm · spring · stick · pop · wound · last · deal

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. club — for dancing
  3. last — final
  4. club — a group
  5. pop — soda
  6. spring — a coil
  7. club — for golf
  8. firm — a company
  9. wound — an injury
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. last — finally
  16. pop — music
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. spring — the season
  20. deal — to handle
  21. spring — of water
  22. firm — steady
  23. last — to go on
  24. firm — decided

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