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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: charge · clip · lean · pound · sharp · ball · branch · chest

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. clip — to cut
  3. charge — in control
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. charge — a price
  9. clip — a video
  10. branch — a division
  11. lean — thin
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. chest — a box
  14. charge — electricity
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ball — a dance
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. chest — of your body
  24. branch — of a tree

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