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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: cue · deal · chest · charge · clip · sharp · plane · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. charge — a price
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. cue — a signal
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cue — a hint
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. chest — a box
  10. clip — a video
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cue — for pool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. sharp — clever
  16. chest — of your body
  17. charge — in control
  18. clip — to cut
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pound — a weight
  21. clip — for paper
  22. plane — a tool
  23. charge — electricity
  24. deal — to handle

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