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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  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. clip — to cut
  3. charge — a price
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. sharp — clever
  10. clip — for paper
  11. board — a committee
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. board — to get on
  18. charge — electricity
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tear — to rip
  23. charge — in control
  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