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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 120 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: club · calf · band · hide · root · clip · firm · race

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. club — for dancing
  6. band — a ring
  7. race — humankind
  8. root — of a plant
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. root — the cause
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. firm — decided
  14. root — of a word
  15. firm — steady
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. firm — a company
  20. band — a music group
  21. clip — for paper
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. clip — a video

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