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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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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: club · clip · saw · land · bark · game · dip · board

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. land — ground
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. board — a committee
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for golf
  7. game — wild animals
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. clip — to cut
  10. game — a match
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bark — to shout
  16. saw — the tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. dip — to sink
  19. land — a country
  20. board — to get on
  21. clip — a video
  22. club — for dancing
  23. land — to come down
  24. bark — 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