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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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Word bank
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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: object · ground · mouse · fan · mine · rush · cell · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. ground — crushed
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. object — an aim
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. rush — hurry
  9. cell — a phone
  10. club — for dancing
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. club — a group
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cell — in biology
  19. ground — a position
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — a thing
  24. fan — to cool the air

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