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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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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: clip · club · pitcher · wind · game · foot · pass · mate

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. club — a group
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. game — a match
  5. pass — a permit
  6. mate — to breed
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — to cut
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. club — for dancing
  11. clip — for paper
  12. foot — a measure
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. club — for golf
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mate — a partner
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wind — moving air

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