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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. pop — soda
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pop — music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. club — for dancing
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. shower — to wash
  14. clip — to cut
  15. club — for golf
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. clip — a video
  19. lie — to recline
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. mark — a trace

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