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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: chest · lean · club · key · ball · clip · row · rest

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. clip — to cut
  4. ball — a great time
  5. lean — thin
  6. key — for a lock
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. chest — a box
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. club — for golf
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rest — what's left
  15. row — to paddle
  16. key — in music
  17. ball — a dance
  18. key — the most important part
  19. clip — for paper
  20. club — for dancing
  21. rest — a break
  22. club — a group
  23. row — a line
  24. rest — what's left

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