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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cell — a phone
  4. club — a group
  5. track — to keep track
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. clip — to cut
  8. sharp — clever
  9. track — a path
  10. pound — a weight
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. track — a song
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. club — for dancing
  20. craft — boats
  21. clip — a video
  22. club — for golf
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. craft — a skill

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