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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: kick · lean · squash · chest · chip · charge · pound · clip

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. charge — a price
  6. lean — thin
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. charge — electricity
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pound — a weight
  17. clip — to cut
  18. charge — in control
  19. squash — to crush
  20. chest — a box
  21. lean — to bend
  22. squash — the sport
  23. chip — to eat
  24. squash — the vegetable

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