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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. clip — a video
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. drill — a practice
  5. suit — to fit
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. club — a group
  8. spring — the season
  9. last — to go on
  10. drill — the tool
  11. deal — to handle
  12. suit — clothes
  13. spring — of water
  14. club — for dancing
  15. drill — army training
  16. suit — in cards
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spring — a coil
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. last — finally
  22. clip — for paper
  23. last — final
  24. deal — a big deal

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