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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 124 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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. club — for golf
  4. charge — electricity
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cap — a lid
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rush — hurry
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — in football
  12. clip — a video
  13. club — a group
  14. wax — to grow
  15. charge — in control
  16. cap — a hat
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cap — of ice
  19. shower — rain
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. club — for dancing
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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