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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · club · perch · game · foot · cap · file · rash

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. club — a group
  3. rash — hasty
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spring — of water
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. file — a line of people
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. spring — the season
  11. perch — the fish
  12. game — a match
  13. foot — a measure
  14. cap — a lid
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cap — a hat
  17. club — for dancing
  18. rash — a series
  19. file — a tool
  20. club — for golf
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. file — a document
  24. spring — a coil

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