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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: current · bound · bat · branch · clip · row · object · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. object — to protest
  3. current — of water
  4. object — a thing
  5. club — for golf
  6. branch — a division
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. row — to paddle
  9. current — electric
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — tied together
  12. clip — to cut
  13. row — a line
  14. object — an aim
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. current — happening now
  18. clip — a video
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. club — for dancing
  24. bat — the animal

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