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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 116 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: stick · club · cell · mate · chair · snap

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chair — a leader
  4. mate — a partner
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. club — for golf
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mate — a friend
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mate — to breed
  12. snap — to click
  13. club — a group
  14. cell — a phone
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cell — in biology

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