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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: swing · club · lean · row · clip · chest · deal · pop

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pop — soda
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. clip — for paper
  8. swing — music
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — to handle
  11. clip — to cut
  12. swing — in golf
  13. chest — of your body
  14. club — for golf
  15. chest — a box
  16. clip — a video
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. lean — thin
  19. club — a group
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pop — to visit
  22. lean — to bend
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. club — for dancing

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