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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · spell · rest · content · rash · clip · chair · track

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. rest — a break
  5. clip — a video
  6. spell — letters
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. track — to keep track
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rash — a series
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rest — what's left
  16. club — for golf
  17. track — a song
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rest — what's left
  21. club — for dancing
  22. rash — hasty
  23. chair — a leader
  24. track — a path

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