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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: arm · rule · cell · content · club · wind

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cell — a phone
  10. club — for golf
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. content — the amount
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rule — a law
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. club — a group
  18. content — happy

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