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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. staff — a stick
  4. row — a line
  5. staff — employees
  6. swing — to play on
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bear — the animal
  10. swing — music
  11. staff — employees
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. land — a country
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. club — for golf
  17. land — ground
  18. cell — in biology
  19. swing — in golf
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — to paddle
  22. club — a group
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cell — in a prison

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