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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. spring — of water
  8. club — for golf
  9. chest — a box
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. staff — employees
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tube — the underground
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spring — a coil
  18. staff — employees
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. staff — a stick
  21. cell — in biology
  22. club — a group
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cell — a phone

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