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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: club · cap · temple · wave · drill · cell · net · wake

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. club — a group
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. drill — army training
  8. net — for catching
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cell — a phone
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. net — after costs
  17. club — for dancing
  18. net — in sport
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cap — a hat

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