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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. club — a group
  4. stand — to bear
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. cell — a phone
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. saw — the tool
  14. content — happy
  15. vault — a safe
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cell — in biology
  20. club — for dancing
  21. content — the amount
  22. wake — a trail
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. saw — the tool

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