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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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. chest — of your body
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a document
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. club — a group
  18. tear — to rip
  19. band — a music group
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. sharp — clever
  22. band — a ring
  23. club — for golf
  24. chest — of your body

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