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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — to cut
  3. club — a group
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. spell — letters
  8. club — for dancing
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. kid — child
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. charge — electricity
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spell — magic
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. club — for golf
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fork — in a road
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — a price
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. spell — a short time

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