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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cold — not warm
  3. clip — a video
  4. key — in music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. row — to paddle
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. charge — in control
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. clip — for paper
  13. charge — a price
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. squash — the sport
  16. key — the most important part
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pit — a hole
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. key — for a lock
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pit — in a race

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