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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: clip · kid · cap · toast · fine · bear · pound · chair

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cap — a lid
  4. clip — a video
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fine — all right
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. fine — high quality
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — bread
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chair — a leader
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. kid — to tease
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cap — a hat
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. cap — of ice

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