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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: cap · mate · clip · hide · pound · pit · club · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pit — in a race
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pit — a hole
  8. chest — a box
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cap — of ice
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. chest — of your body
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for dancing
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mate — to breed
  22. club — for golf
  23. clip — a video
  24. cap — a hat

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