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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. charge — a price
  3. bulb — for light
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — electricity
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. clip — a video
  9. swing — music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. swing — to play on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — in golf
  17. saw — the tool
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bulb — for light
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wake — a trail
  22. tear — to rip
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bulb — of a plant

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