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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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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: club · clip · pitch · kick · file · tear · board · stick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. file — a line of people
  3. board — a committee
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. file — a document
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. file — a tool
  8. club — for golf
  9. kick — in football
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. club — a group
  13. pitch — completely
  14. board — to get on
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. tear — to rip
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. tear — from crying

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