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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. game — a match
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — a group
  5. rash — hasty
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cap — a hat
  16. game — wild animals
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. staff — employees
  19. club — for golf
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rash — a series
  23. cell — a phone
  24. staff — a stick

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