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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. club — for golf
  3. branch — a division
  4. file — a line of people
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. row — to paddle
  7. clip — for paper
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. charge — in control
  10. chip — to eat
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. charge — electricity
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chip — for betting
  18. row — a line
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. clip — a video
  21. charge — a price
  22. file — a document
  23. clip — to cut
  24. file — a tool

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