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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. club — a group
  3. rock — a stone
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. court — of a king
  8. kick — in football
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. clip — a video
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. court — for sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rest — what's left
  17. club — for golf
  18. court — of law
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. game — a match
  22. pound — a weight
  23. club — for dancing
  24. pound — to hit hard

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