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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 · racket · spring · last · club · foot · cabinet · hide

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. club — for dancing
  6. clip — a video
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. club — a group
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — a coil
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. last — final
  16. spring — of water
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. spring — the season
  21. foot — a measure
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. clip — for paper

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