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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: tear · mate · clip · club · foot · mark · chest · coach

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chest — a box
  3. clip — for paper
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. club — a group
  7. mate — a partner
  8. foot — a measure
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mate — to breed
  12. club — for dancing
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mark — a trace
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mate — a friend
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mark — a grade
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. club — for golf

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