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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: wake · cell · present · chair · club · stick

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wake — a trail
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. club — a group
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. present — the time now
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. present — a gift
  15. club — for golf
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cell — in biology
  18. present — there

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