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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. clip — a video
  3. wind — moving air
  4. club — for golf
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fine — high quality
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. club — for dancing
  11. tube — a container
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bark — to shout
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. scale — size or range
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fine — all right
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fine — a penalty

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