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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · perch · kick · cell · bay · cold

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. club — a group
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kick — in football
  16. perch — the fish
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bay — a horse colour

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