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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 · coach · game · foot · bear · chair · calf

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bear — the animal
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chair — a leader
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. clip — a video
  21. pound — a weight
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bear — the animal
  24. game — a match

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