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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 · snap · game · bark · row · fan · chair · foot

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. chair — a leader
  4. club — a group
  5. row — to paddle
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. snap — to click
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. club — for golf
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. game — a match
  19. row — a line
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. foot — a measure

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