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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — a video
  3. cap — a hat
  4. land — to come down
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cap — of ice
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rush — hurry
  9. hand — help
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. land — ground
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. clip — to cut
  14. land — a country
  15. clip — for paper
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. charge — electricity
  20. charge — a price
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cap — a lid
  23. kick — in football
  24. charge — in control

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