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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: plane · degree · clip · swing · object · bark · club · hand

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. hand — in cards
  4. club — a group
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — a video
  7. degree — from a university
  8. club — for dancing
  9. object — a thing
  10. plane — a tool
  11. clip — to cut
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bark — to shout
  14. degree — an amount
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. object — to protest
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. club — for golf
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — for paper

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