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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. clip — a video
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. tube — a container
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. charge — in control
  8. cell — a phone
  9. tube — the underground
  10. charge — electricity
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. game — a match
  15. cap — of ice
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cap — a hat
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cell — in biology
  21. tear — to rip
  22. game — wild animals
  23. tear — from crying
  24. charge — a price

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