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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. charge — electricity
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pop — to visit
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pop — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. game — wild animals
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for golf
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — in control
  15. mine — for digging
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. hand — help
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. game — a match
  24. pop — soda

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