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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: clip · mine · lash · club · straw · pitch · jam · leaves

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. club — a group
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. clip — to cut
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pitch — completely
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. clip — for paper
  17. club — for dancing
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. mine — for digging
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. clip — a video
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. jam — a tight spot

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