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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 120 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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. charge — electricity
  3. snap — to click
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — for paper
  6. charge — a price
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. club — for dancing
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. charge — in control
  12. club — a group
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fall — the season
  15. clip — a video
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. fall — to drop
  18. club — for golf
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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