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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. toast — bread
  4. club — for golf
  5. net — in sport
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chip — for betting
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. court — for sport
  12. pound — a weight
  13. net — for catching
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bark — to shout
  18. clip — a video
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. net — after costs
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bark — of a tree

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