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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rule · land · club · clip · shower · tube · swing · board

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. swing — in golf
  4. clip — to cut
  5. swing — to play on
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tube — the underground
  8. swing — music
  9. board — to get on
  10. rule — a law
  11. tube — a container
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. clip — a video
  14. club — for dancing
  15. rule — government
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. board — a committee
  21. club — for golf
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. club — a group
  24. land — ground

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