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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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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. rest — a break
  4. charge — a price
  5. roll — a cake
  6. charge — electricity
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. roll — a list
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pound — a weight
  15. foot — a measure
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. charge — in control
  20. clip — a video
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rest — what's left
  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