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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. club — for golf
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rule — a law
  6. craft — a skill
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. file — a tool
  12. craft — boats
  13. hand — help
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. squash — to crush
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. plane — a tool
  23. rule — government
  24. hand — in cards

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