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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: mouse · kid · club · leaves · last · clip · saw · racket

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. club — for golf
  4. saw — the tool
  5. last — final
  6. clip — a video
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. clip — to cut
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. kid — to tease
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for dancing
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. clip — for paper
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. last — finally
  22. kid — child
  23. last — to go on
  24. mouse — 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