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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. march — the month
  5. court — of law
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. march — the month
  8. board — to get on
  9. roll — a list
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. court — for sport
  12. march — music
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bank — for money
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — a group
  17. clip — a video
  18. roll — a cake
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bank — of a river
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bank — for money
  23. board — a committee
  24. court — of a king

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