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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. roll — a list
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. clip — to cut
  8. court — of law
  9. clip — for paper
  10. charge — in control
  11. court — for sport
  12. charge — electricity
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. roll — a cake
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. court — of a king
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. sharp — with an edge

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