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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: bore · club · chair · row · clip · fork · content · pitcher

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bore — to drill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. clip — a video
  6. bore — to tire
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. chair — a leader
  9. row — a line
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. row — to paddle
  13. content — happy
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. club — for dancing
  16. fork — in a road
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. clip — for paper
  23. club — a group
  24. clip — to cut

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