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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. content — the amount
  5. club — a group
  6. content — happy
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cell — in biology
  13. club — for golf
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fall — the season
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. row — a line

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