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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: swing · clip · saw · key · race · court · club · chair

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. key — in music
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. clip — a video
  10. club — for dancing
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. court — of a king
  13. chair — a leader
  14. court — for sport
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. key — the most important part
  19. swing — to play on
  20. key — for a lock
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. court — of law
  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