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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: bay · ground · present · file · cell · lash · club · capital

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. present — a gift
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. ground — the earth
  8. present — the time now
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. ground — a position
  11. cell — a phone
  12. present — there
  13. club — for dancing
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. file — a document
  16. capital — money
  17. file — a tool
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cell — in biology
  22. club — a group
  23. capital — a city
  24. ground — crushed

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