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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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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: chair · clip · foot · lean · rest · club · row · snap

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. chair — a leader
  3. row — to paddle
  4. clip — to cut
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. club — for dancing
  7. lean — to bend
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. clip — for paper
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rest — what's left
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. clip — a video
  16. club — for golf
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. rest — a break
  21. lean — thin
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rest — what's left
  24. row — a line

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