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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 120 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: firm · club · chest · kick · clip · pass · pop · trunk

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. chest — of your body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. firm — decided
  5. club — for golf
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pop — music
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pop — to visit
  14. chest — a box
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. kick — in football
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. club — a group
  20. pop — soda
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. firm — steady
  23. club — for dancing
  24. kick — with a leg

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