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

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. charge — electricity
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. clip — a video
  8. cell — a phone
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a committee
  11. firm — steady
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. clip — for paper
  15. firm — a company
  16. charge — in control
  17. charge — a price
  18. board — a flat piece

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