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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cell — in biology
  4. club — a group
  5. hand — help
  6. swing — music
  7. field — farmland
  8. cue — for pool
  9. club — for golf
  10. field — a subject
  11. hand — in cards
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cue — a signal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bound — certain
  17. swing — in golf
  18. field — for sport
  19. march — music
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cue — a hint
  22. bound — tied together
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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