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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: trunk · wound · spring · tear · fall · mug · pop · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mug — to rob
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pop — to visit
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. club — a group
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — the season
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. mug — a face
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pop — soda
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pop — music
  21. mug — a cup
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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