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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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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: row · wave · arm · club · last · fine · clip · racket

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. club — a group
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. fine — all right
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. row — to paddle
  16. clip — for paper
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. clip — a video
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. last — final
  23. row — a line
  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