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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.

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 · field · clip · straw · jam · racket · land · bark

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. land — a country
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. land — to come down
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. clip — a video
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. field — a subject
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. land — ground
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bark — to shout
  17. club — for dancing
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. clip — to cut
  22. club — for golf
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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