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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. rest — a break
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. key — in music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. club — for golf
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cell — in biology
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rest — what's left
  16. key — for a lock
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bound — obliged
  22. club — for dancing
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bound — certain

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