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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. court — of a king
  5. kid — to tease
  6. present — the time now
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. kid — child
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. court — for sport
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. present — a gift
  13. board — a committee
  14. court — of law
  15. pound — a weight
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. present — there
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. chair — a leader
  23. clip — a video
  24. racket — a loud noise

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