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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. club — a group
  5. spring — of water
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. current — happening now
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — of water
  11. clip — a video
  12. cell — a phone
  13. spring — the season
  14. craft — boats
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wound — an injury
  18. craft — a skill
  19. club — for golf
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. current — electric
  22. spring — a coil
  23. club — for dancing
  24. clip — for paper

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