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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — a price
  5. club — a group
  6. clip — for paper
  7. drill — army training
  8. bear — the animal
  9. clip — a video
  10. degree — from a university
  11. club — for golf
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. clip — to cut
  15. drill — a practice
  16. degree — an amount
  17. drill — the tool
  18. club — for dancing

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