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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: row · clip · squash · bound · club · wound · press · staff

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. squash — to crush
  3. club — for golf
  4. staff — a stick
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bound — obliged
  7. staff — employees
  8. press — to push
  9. row — to paddle
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bound — tied together
  12. row — a line
  13. press — a publisher
  14. clip — for paper
  15. club — for dancing
  16. squash — the sport
  17. press — newspapers
  18. staff — employees
  19. club — a group
  20. bound — certain
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. clip — a video

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