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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: staff · club · bear · perch · wound · spring · mine · pitcher

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. club — a group
  3. spring — a coil
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. club — for dancing
  11. staff — employees
  12. spring — the season
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. perch — the fish
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. club — for golf
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mine — for digging
  23. staff — employees
  24. perch — for a bird

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