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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. ground — a position
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fall — the season
  6. sharp — clever
  7. charge — in control
  8. ground — crushed
  9. clip — a video
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. charge — a price
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fall — to drop
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ground — the earth
  24. coach — a trainer

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