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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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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: staff · march · bound · club · bowl · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. club — a group
  3. staff — a stick
  4. march — the month
  5. bound — tied together
  6. club — for golf
  7. bound — certain
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. staff — employees
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. clip — to cut
  13. club — for dancing
  14. march — the month
  15. staff — employees
  16. clip — a video
  17. bound — obliged
  18. march — music

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