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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. club — a group
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. clip — a video
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. club — for golf
  9. clip — to cut
  10. spell — letters
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. clip — for paper
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bass — low music
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. band — a music group
  24. spell — a short time

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