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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 116 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. hand — help
  6. mine — for digging
  7. club — for golf
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a ring
  14. hand — in cards
  15. band — a music group
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. net — in sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cell — in biology

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