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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. charge — electricity
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. clip — a video
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kid — to tease
  12. clip — to cut
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. charge — in control
  16. face — to confront
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — child
  22. capital — a city
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. capital — money

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