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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  3. court — for sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. court — of law
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chest — of your body
  13. march — the month
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. march — the month
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. court — of a king
  18. dip — to sink
  19. march — music
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. chest — a box
  22. clip — for paper
  23. chair — to sit on
  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