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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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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. land — ground
  3. pop — music
  4. club — a group
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. land — to come down
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. land — a country
  13. current — of water
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chest — a box
  19. current — electric
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. current — happening now
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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