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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.

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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 · board · fall · clip · race · last · band

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. board — to get on
  3. spell — magic
  4. race — the arms race
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fall — the season
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fall — to drop
  14. race — humankind
  15. band — a music group
  16. spell — letters
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. last — finally
  19. race — a contest
  20. fall — to drop
  21. club — for golf
  22. clip — a video
  23. board — a committee
  24. club — a group

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