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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: jam · tear · nail · clip · club · squash · lean · arm

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. squash — to crush
  4. club — a group
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — for paper
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. clip — a video
  12. tear — from crying
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. lean — thin
  18. squash — the sport
  19. lean — to bend
  20. clip — to cut
  21. tear — to rip
  22. club — for dancing
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. squash — the vegetable

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