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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: calf · club · clip · present · pound · rule · fork · coach

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. clip — a video
  3. present — the time now
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rule — a law
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. present — a gift
  22. club — a group
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fork — to eat with

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