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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. clip — to cut
  3. club — a group
  4. rock — music
  5. staff — employees
  6. club — for dancing
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. staff — employees
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. clip — a video
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — for paper
  18. staff — a stick

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