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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. dip — to sink
  5. hand — in cards
  6. charge — electricity
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. saw — the tool
  9. charge — a price
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. charge — in control
  14. clip — for paper
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. clip — to cut
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hand — help
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. clip — a video

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