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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: club · ground · clip · saw · present · staff · board · sharp

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. clip — a video
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. ground — a position
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. clip — to cut
  7. club — for golf
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ground — crushed
  11. clip — for paper
  12. staff — employees
  13. saw — the tool
  14. present — a gift
  15. saw — the tool
  16. board — a committee
  17. present — the time now
  18. club — for dancing
  19. board — to get on
  20. staff — a stick
  21. club — a group
  22. ground — the earth
  23. staff — employees
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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