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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — to rip
  5. present — there
  6. spring — the season
  7. present — a gift
  8. tear — from crying
  9. charge — a price
  10. lie — to recline
  11. toast — bread
  12. clip — to cut
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. present — the time now
  16. clip — for paper
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spring — of water
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. spring — a coil
  23. charge — electricity
  24. prune — to trim

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