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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. land — ground
  3. clip — a video
  4. charge — electricity
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tube — a container
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. land — a country
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. land — to come down
  13. cap — of ice
  14. charge — in control
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. tube — the underground
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. clip — for paper
  19. charge — a price
  20. rush — hurry
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. patient — a sick person

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