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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 116 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: capital · club · stick · shower · coach · clip · bear · cue

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. clip — a video
  3. cue — a hint
  4. bear — the animal
  5. club — for golf
  6. capital — money
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. shower — rain
  19. clip — for paper
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. capital — a city
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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