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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. clip — to cut
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wax — to grow
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. club — a group
  12. root — the cause
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. root — of a word
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. date — the fruit
  21. root — of a plant
  22. saw — the tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. club — for dancing

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