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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: lie · sharp · charge · perch · clip · pound · kid · game

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kid — to tease
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — electricity
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. kid — child
  9. sharp — clever
  10. charge — in control
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — to cut
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. perch — the fish
  18. game — a match
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. game — wild animals
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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