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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: season · spell · clip · club · swing · wake · chip · chair

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chair — a leader
  3. club — for golf
  4. season — of the year
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spell — letters
  7. clip — a video
  8. season — in sport
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. swing — in golf
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. club — a group
  20. wake — a trail
  21. swing — music
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chip — for betting

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