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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ground — crushed
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. sharp — clever
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cell — in biology
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cell — a phone
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. ground — a position
  18. club — a group
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. club — for dancing
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ground — the earth

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