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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 116 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spring — of water
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. spring — a coil
  9. charge — electricity
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. spring — the season
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fall — the season
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fine — all right
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. cell — in biology
  23. charge — a price
  24. bat — for baseball

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