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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. row — a line
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. mark — a trace
  7. clip — a video
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. row — to paddle
  11. club — for golf
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. club — a group
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. board — to get on
  20. bulb — for light
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. straw — a straw man

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