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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. club — a group
  9. charge — electricity
  10. club — for dancing
  11. snap — to click
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. charge — a price
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. charge — in control
  21. clip — a video
  22. club — for golf
  23. squash — to crush
  24. chair — a professorship

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