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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: shower · clip · snap · club · stock · bay · current · arm

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. clip — to cut
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. stock — goods
  10. clip — a video
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. current — electric
  13. snap — to click
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. current — of water
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stock — shares
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. current — happening now

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