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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bat — the animal
  3. charge — electricity
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bass — low music
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rest — a break
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. charge — a price
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. charge — in control
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bass — the fish
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fork — in a road

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