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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: board · rash · tube · club · content · clip · stand · court

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. clip — for paper
  3. court — of law
  4. club — a group
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. court — of a king
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. club — for dancing
  11. tube — the underground
  12. board — a committee
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — to bear
  16. rash — a series
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. rash — hasty
  20. content — the amount
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. board — to get on
  23. tube — a container
  24. court — for sport

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