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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · clip · snap · club · hide · pound

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. club — for golf
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. snap — to click
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pound — a weight
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. clip — a video
  16. deal — to handle
  17. club — for dancing
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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