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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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. trunk — of a car
  4. bound — obliged
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bound — certain
  8. chest — of your body
  9. club — for golf
  10. bound — tied together
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. chest — a box
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mark — a grade
  18. ball — a dance
  19. mark — a trace
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cell — in biology
  24. ball — a great time

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