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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: stem · bowl · coach · mug · club · bat · clip · land

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. land — ground
  3. stem — to come from
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — a video
  6. land — a country
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. land — to come down
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. club — for dancing
  15. mug — a cup
  16. club — for golf
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. club — a group
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. mug — a face
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bat — in an idiom

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