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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: cell · mouse · spell · chest · club · pit · court · bark

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cell — a phone
  4. club — for dancing
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pit — a hole
  9. club — a group
  10. court — of law
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. cell — in biology
  13. court — for sport
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. chest — a box
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chest — of your body
  20. court — of a king
  21. spell — magic
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mouse — the animal

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