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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mate — to breed
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cap — of ice
  8. club — for dancing
  9. kick — in football
  10. row — to paddle
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cap — a lid
  13. saw — the tool
  14. content — happy
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. club — for golf
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cell — a phone
  20. content — the amount
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cap — a hat
  23. mate — a friend
  24. kick — with a leg

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