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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. clip — a video
  5. track — to keep track
  6. charge — in control
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. charge — a price
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — a city
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. track — a path
  14. capital — money
  15. track — a song
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. band — a ring
  20. charge — electricity
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wake — a trail
  24. clip — to cut

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