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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. charge — electricity
  4. court — of law
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. charge — a price
  10. court — of a king
  11. saw — the tool
  12. stock — goods
  13. rest — what's left
  14. court — for sport
  15. stock — shares
  16. clip — a video
  17. charge — in control
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. rest — a break

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