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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. kid — child
  3. clip — for paper
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. club — for golf
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. charge — in control
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. squash — to crush
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. clip — to cut
  20. charge — electricity
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. charge — a price
  24. clip — a video

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