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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. sharp — clever
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pass — a permit
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — in control
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. can — a tin
  12. bulb — for light
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bulb — for light
  17. row — a line
  18. clip — a video
  19. can — a tin
  20. charge — a price
  21. clip — to cut
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. kid — child

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