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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cold — not warm
  3. club — a group
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hand — help
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. cap — of ice
  10. club — for golf
  11. cap — a hat
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cell — in biology
  16. spell — letters
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. spell — a short time
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spell — magic

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