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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. mate — to breed
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stock — shares
  5. swing — music
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. clip — for paper
  8. charge — a price
  9. clip — a video
  10. mate — a partner
  11. swing — to play on
  12. mine — for digging
  13. charge — electricity
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pound — a weight
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. charge — in control
  21. stock — goods
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mine — an explosive

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