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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. land — ground
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stand — to bear
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. land — a country
  8. club — for dancing
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pop — to visit
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. kid — child
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. land — to come down
  19. kid — to tease
  20. club — for golf
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — music
  23. cell — a phone
  24. shower — rain

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