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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 120 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — for pool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. club — for dancing
  6. fall — the season
  7. club — for golf
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tube — a container
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — in a road
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. band — a music group
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mine — for digging
  24. club — a group

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