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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 116 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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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 · leaves · clip · row · cell · cap · coach · pit

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cell — a phone
  7. row — to paddle
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cell — in biology
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — to cut
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a hole
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cap — a lid
  24. leaves — of a tree

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