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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. charge — electricity
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. clip — for paper
  5. charge — in control
  6. bass — low music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cold — not warm
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. charge — a price
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — to keep track

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