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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 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. clip — for paper
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. clip — a video
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bark — to shout
  7. object — an aim
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. object — a thing
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rule — a law
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rule — government
  17. club — a group
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. clip — to cut
  21. object — to protest
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. shower — rain
  24. straw — a straw man

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