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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 124 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 refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. cell — a phone
  3. staff — employees
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. club — for golf
  6. staff — employees
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. club — a group
  9. mug — to rob
  10. staff — a stick
  11. club — for dancing
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mug — a face
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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