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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 120 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: bear · ground · club · drill · cell · wound · bay · suit

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. 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. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. club — a group
  11. suit — to fit
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ground — a position
  18. suit — clothes
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. suit — in cards
  24. 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