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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 · lash · key · board · cold · arm · jam · cell

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cold — an illness
  3. club — a group
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. club — for golf
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. key — in music
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cell — a phone
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. key — for a lock
  21. cold — not warm
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — a committee
  24. key — the most important part

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