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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chair — a leader
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. charge — a price
  11. last — final
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. season — of the year
  14. clip — for paper
  15. last — to go on
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. season — in sport
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. charge — in control
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. last — finally
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. trunk — of a tree

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