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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: mine · mug · scale · club · last · vault · cell · stick

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. club — a group
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. mug — a face
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — to rob
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — for dancing
  13. vault — a safe
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. last — to go on
  16. mine — for digging
  17. last — finally
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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