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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fine — all right
  8. vault — a safe
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. snap — to click
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chair — a leader
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. can — to be able to
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — to cut
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — a video
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. can — a tin

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