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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. cell — in biology
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. kid — child
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. club — for dancing
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. club — a group
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — tied together
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bound — certain
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bound — obliged

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