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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 124 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: club · march · wave · stem · clip · row · patient · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. club — a group
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. club — for golf
  5. clip — a video
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. row — a line
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bound — obliged
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. march — the month
  18. stem — to come from
  19. club — for dancing
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. march — the month
  22. bound — certain
  23. clip — for paper
  24. march — music

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