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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: file · cell · jam · club · date · roll · content · board

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. roll — a cake
  3. board — a committee
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. content — the amount
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. date — the fruit
  8. board — to get on
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. cell — a phone
  12. content — happy
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. file — a tool
  15. cell — in biology
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. roll — a list
  19. file — a document
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. file — a line of people

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