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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — to come down
  4. club — for golf
  5. hand — help
  6. object — to protest
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. swing — music
  14. land — ground
  15. cell — in biology
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. land — a country
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. hand — in cards
  21. swing — in golf
  22. rest — what's left
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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