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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pound — a weight
  8. sharp — clever
  9. clip — for paper
  10. staff — employees
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — to protest
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. staff — employees
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. clip — to cut
  22. staff — a stick
  23. object — an aim
  24. clip — a video

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