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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. charge — a price
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. march — the month
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. march — music
  12. kid — child
  13. clip — a video
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. charge — in control
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. charge — electricity

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