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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. board — to get on
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spell — letters
  5. spring — the season
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lean — thin
  8. cell — a phone
  9. club — a group
  10. lean — to bend
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. spring — of water
  14. spell — magic
  15. board — a committee
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spell — a short time
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mate — a friend
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mate — a partner
  23. club — for dancing
  24. kid — child

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