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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. clip — for paper
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rest — a break
  5. pop — to visit
  6. club — a group
  7. rest — what's left
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chest — a box
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — soda
  15. rest — what's left
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. deal — to handle
  22. club — for golf
  23. season — to add flavour
  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