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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 116 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. hand — help
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — thin
  6. club — for dancing
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bank — for money
  9. season — of the year
  10. club — for golf
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. clip — a video
  13. bank — of a river
  14. clip — to cut
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. clip — for paper
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — to get on
  19. hand — in cards
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bank — for money
  22. season — in sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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