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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: row · saw · mate · cold · net · firm · club · cell

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. firm — decided
  3. saw — the tool
  4. firm — steady
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. mate — a partner
  8. saw — the tool
  9. row — a line
  10. firm — a company
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mate — to breed
  15. net — in sport
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cell — a phone
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. club — for golf
  21. mate — a friend
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — an illness

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