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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: straw · chair · present · sharp · scale · foot · club · clip

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. scale — size or range
  3. present — a gift
  4. club — a group
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. club — for dancing
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. present — there
  9. clip — a video
  10. sharp — clever
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. clip — for paper
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chair — a leader
  17. club — for golf
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. present — the time now
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. clip — to cut
  24. scale — in music

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