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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · craft · club · pound · straw · bear

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. 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. clip — to cut
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bear — the animal
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. club — for golf
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bear — the animal
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. craft — boats
  17. club — a group
  18. 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