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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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Word bank
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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — for paper
  4. present — a gift
  5. bound — tied together
  6. charge — electricity
  7. pop — music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. bound — obliged
  11. present — the time now
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — certain
  14. ball — a great time
  15. charge — a price
  16. pop — soda
  17. present — there
  18. season — of the year
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. charge — in control
  24. pop — to visit

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