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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: rash · bay · row · pop · clip · stem · trunk · club

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pop — music
  4. club — a group
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. club — for golf
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. rash — hasty
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. row — a line
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pop — soda
  21. rash — a series
  22. clip — a video
  23. row — to paddle
  24. trunk — of a tree

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