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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — electricity
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. court — for sport
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. court — of a king
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bulb — for light
  18. court — of law

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