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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.

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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. row — a line
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chair — a leader
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cell — a phone
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rock — music
  15. band — a music group
  16. row — to paddle
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. key — the most important part
  20. rock — a stone
  21. club — for golf
  22. cell — in biology
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. key — in music

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