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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. club — a group
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. mug — to rob
  6. rash — a series
  7. staff — employees
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. staff — employees
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cell — in biology
  13. club — for golf
  14. mug — a face
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chest — of your body
  23. plane — a tool
  24. rash — hasty

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