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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: ball · bark · race · club · clip · leaves · swing · safe

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. race — humankind
  3. club — for golf
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. clip — for paper
  6. swing — music
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. swing — to play on
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. clip — to cut
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. club — for dancing
  13. ball — a dance
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. swing — in golf
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. club — a group
  21. clip — a video
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. race — a contest

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