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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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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: hand · court · clip · calf · bound · bear · swing · club

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bound — obliged
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bear — the animal
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. court — of law
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. court — of a king
  14. bound — certain
  15. bear — the animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bound — tied together
  19. hand — in cards
  20. swing — music
  21. clip — for paper
  22. court — for sport
  23. hand — help
  24. club — a group

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