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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 116 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 · trunk · club · hand · tube · firm · rash · sharp

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rash — hasty
  5. hand — in cards
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. firm — a company
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. club — a group
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. clip — a video
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. firm — decided
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. club — for golf
  24. firm — steady

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