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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mark — a trace
  3. cue — for pool
  4. club — a group
  5. pound — a weight
  6. season — in sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. mark — a grade
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cue — a hint
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cue — a signal
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. club — for golf
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pound — for dogs

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