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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 120 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: pound · coach · drill · racket · clip · club · band · bulb

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. pound — a weight
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — for paper
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bulb — for light
  7. drill — army training
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. band — a music group
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. drill — a practice
  14. band — a ring
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. clip — a video
  20. club — for golf
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. band — a rubber band
  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