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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. club — for golf
  3. drill — a practice
  4. suit — to fit
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cue — a hint
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — clothes
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cue — a signal
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. drill — army training
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cue — for pool
  17. drill — the tool
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bass — low music
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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