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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. clip — for paper
  3. swing — to play on
  4. board — to get on
  5. club — for golf
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bank — of a river
  11. fall — the season
  12. swing — music
  13. clip — to cut
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bank — for money
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bank — for money
  21. club — a group
  22. clip — a video
  23. foot — a measure
  24. mine — for digging

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