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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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468
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: clip · craft · chair · key · scale · hand · pound · bear

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. key — for a lock
  3. clip — a video
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bear — the animal
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hand — help
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pound — a weight
  16. craft — a skill
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. scale — size or range
  19. hand — in cards
  20. craft — boats
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. key — in music

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