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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: saw · bay · club · lean · wind · spring · chair · land

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spring — of water
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. lean — to bend
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — thin
  7. club — for golf
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. land — to come down
  14. club — for dancing
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. land — ground
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. spring — the season
  24. land — a country

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