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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: bark · club · clip · field · cue · object · tube · swing

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cue — for pool
  3. swing — to play on
  4. clip — for paper
  5. club — for dancing
  6. tube — a container
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. club — for golf
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. club — a group
  13. object — a thing
  14. field — for sport
  15. cue — a signal
  16. swing — in golf
  17. object — an aim
  18. clip — a video
  19. swing — music
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. clip — to cut

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