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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 120 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: pound · charge · row · plane · pitcher · arm · band · clip

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. row — to paddle
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. charge — electricity
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — a line
  12. band — a ring
  13. charge — a price
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. clip — to cut
  17. plane — a tool
  18. charge — in control
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. band — a music group
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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