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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cell — a phone
  4. club — for golf
  5. scale — in music
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — child
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. kid — to tease
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing

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