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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. track — a path
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. club — for golf
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. swing — music
  12. spring — of water
  13. swing — in golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. spring — the season
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. swing — to play on
  19. clip — for paper
  20. track — a song
  21. clip — a video
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. track — to keep track
  24. club — a group

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