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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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Word bank
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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: chair · mine · stick · mug · date · clip · spring · pound

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mine — for digging
  14. clip — a video
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. date — the fruit
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mug — a cup
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — a weight
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chair — to sit on

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