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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 · tube · board · club · bank · kid · present · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. present — a gift
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. tube — a container
  8. clip — for paper
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for golf
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. bank — of a river
  18. board — a committee
  19. present — the time now
  20. board — to get on
  21. club — for dancing
  22. spell — a short time
  23. present — there
  24. kid — to tease

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