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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chest — a box
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. club — a group
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bark — to shout
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a ring
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. ball — a great time
  19. clip — for paper
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. clip — a video
  23. ball — a dance
  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