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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. club — for golf
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. race — humankind
  11. band — a music group
  12. court — for sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. race — the arms race
  17. club — a group
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. court — of a king
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. clip — a video
  22. court — of law
  23. band — a ring
  24. pitcher — a jug

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