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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. charge — electricity
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pass — a permit
  6. charge — in control
  7. band — a ring
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. clip — for paper
  10. court — of a king
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. band — a music group
  13. clip — a video
  14. court — of law
  15. charge — a price
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. clip — to cut

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