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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: club · arm · ground · pitch · band · net · stick · clip

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. band — a ring
  5. clip — to cut
  6. club — for dancing
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. club — for golf
  12. band — a music group
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. ground — a position
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pitch — completely
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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