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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. cap — a lid
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. clip — to cut
  5. charge — electricity
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chest — a box
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cap — of ice
  11. game — a match
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. charge — a price
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bear — the animal
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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