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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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Word bank
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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: squash · season · cell · clip · ruler · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cell — in biology
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. club — a group
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. club — for dancing
  8. clip — a video
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cell — a phone
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. ruler — for measuring

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