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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: pound · clip · club · mark · pop · board · bat · calf

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. club — for dancing
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pop — music
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. clip — to cut
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. board — to get on
  11. pop — soda
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. club — for golf
  14. clip — a video
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bat — the animal
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. club — a group
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mark — a trace
  24. board — a committee

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