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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. club — for golf
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. prune — to trim
  7. club — for dancing
  8. current — of water
  9. club — a group
  10. prune — to trim
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. current — happening now
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. current — electric

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