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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. charge — electricity
  3. clip — a video
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fall — the season
  11. charge — in control
  12. ground — a position
  13. present — a gift
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. charge — a price
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. dip — to sink
  24. present — the time now

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