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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. club — for golf
  3. pound — a weight
  4. kick — in football
  5. club — a group
  6. bound — tied together
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bound — obliged
  10. clip — to cut
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. clip — a video
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bound — certain
  17. band — a ring
  18. snap — to click
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pitch — completely

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