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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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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — moving air
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pit — in a race
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. charge — a price
  10. squash — to crush
  11. capital — a city
  12. charge — electricity
  13. clip — a video
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — money
  17. pitch — completely
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. charge — in control
  20. squash — the sport
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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