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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. charge — a price
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spell — magic
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. charge — electricity
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. clip — a video
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mate — to breed
  24. charge — in control

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