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

Word bank: stick · chair · pop · date · club · cell

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. 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. chair — a leader
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. club — for golf
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cell — a phone
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pop — soda
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cell — in biology
  18. 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