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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: straw · mark · club · spring · chip · swing · cap · bark

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. swing — in golf
  3. chip — for betting
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mark — a trace
  12. cap — a hat
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. club — for golf
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. swing — music
  19. spring — a coil
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cap — a lid
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. swing — to play on

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