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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: clip · wound · bore · staff · wind · degree · club · stick

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. club — for dancing
  8. staff — employees
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bore — to drill
  13. clip — a video
  14. degree — an amount
  15. club — a group
  16. wind — moving air
  17. staff — employees
  18. wind — moving air
  19. staff — a stick
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bore — to tire

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