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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 116 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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Word bank
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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. ball — a great time
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — for sport
  7. can — a tin
  8. perch — the fish
  9. clip — a video
  10. band — a ring
  11. field — a subject
  12. ball — a dance
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bat — the animal
  15. field — farmland
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. band — a music group
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. can — to be able to
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. can — a tin
  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