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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. perch — the fish
  8. present — a gift
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. scale — in music
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. kid — child
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. present — there
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. present — the time now
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. kid — to tease
  24. club — a group

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