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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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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. scale — in music
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. ground — the earth
  6. charge — a price
  7. wind — moving air
  8. charge — in control
  9. ground — crushed
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. ground — a position
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. kick — in football
  18. bark — to shout
  19. clip — a video
  20. charge — electricity
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. scale — for weighing
  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