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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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468
Word bank
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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fine — all right
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wound — an injury
  10. face — to confront
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitch — completely
  13. face — to point toward
  14. row — a line
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fine — high quality
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bay — a horse colour

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