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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: clip · hand · racket · club · foot · band · lean · kid

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. club — a group
  3. lean — thin
  4. clip — for paper
  5. club — for golf
  6. lean — to bend
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. hand — help
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. band — a ring
  13. foot — a measure
  14. kid — to tease
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. club — for dancing
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — child
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. band — a music group
  24. hand — in cards

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