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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. charge — a price
  3. drill — army training
  4. clip — a video
  5. net — after costs
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. net — in sport
  8. pit — in a race
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. drill — the tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. clip — for paper
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. net — for catching
  17. squash — the sport
  18. clip — to cut
  19. charge — electricity
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. charge — in control
  22. field — a subject
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. pit — a hole

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