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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 120 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 · deal · club · coach · pitcher · row · fork · wound

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — for paper
  3. club — a group
  4. wound — an injury
  5. row — to paddle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. clip — a video
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. club — for golf
  17. deal — to handle
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fork — in a road
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pitcher — a jug

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