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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. clip — to cut
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — a weight
  6. clip — for paper
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. club — a group
  9. clip — a video
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. row — to paddle
  14. club — for golf
  15. court — of a king
  16. cold — not warm
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. court — of law
  20. row — a line
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. court — for sport

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