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

Word bank: calf · cue · race · clip · charge · pound · prune · chair

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. cue — a hint
  3. prune — to trim
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. race — humankind
  8. prune — to trim
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cue — for pool
  14. charge — a price
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cue — a signal
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. charge — in control
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. race — the arms race
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. race — a contest
  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