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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. club — for golf
  3. board — a committee
  4. staff — a stick
  5. march — the month
  6. staff — employees
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. club — a group
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — for paper
  15. march — the month
  16. key — in music
  17. march — music
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. staff — employees
  21. board — to get on
  22. club — for dancing
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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