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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. game — wild animals
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — to cut
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. charge — in control
  8. present — the time now
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. charge — a price
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. present — there
  17. press — a publisher
  18. wax — to grow
  19. present — a gift
  20. tear — to rip
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitch — completely
  23. clip — a video
  24. game — a match

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