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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wind — moving air
  4. charge — electricity
  5. clip — a video
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bear — the animal
  8. track — a path
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. charge — a price
  15. wind — moving air
  16. track — a song
  17. ball — a great time
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. charge — in control
  22. cap — a lid
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ball — a round shape

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