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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · clip · bowl · wound · bark · press · club · hide

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — to cut
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wound — an injury
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. club — a group
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. press — a publisher
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — a video
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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