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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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fine — all right
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cell — a phone
  10. clip — to cut
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. club — for dancing
  15. clip — a video
  16. fine — high quality
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. club — for golf
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pitcher — a jug

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