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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pass — a permit
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. field — for sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. charge — a price
  9. fine — all right
  10. field — farmland
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. game — a match
  14. bulb — for light
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — to rip
  18. field — a subject
  19. charge — electricity
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bulb — for light

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