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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. sharp — clever
  5. hand — in cards
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — a price
  10. clip — a video
  11. charge — in control
  12. hand — help
  13. spell — letters
  14. pound — a weight
  15. squash — to crush
  16. spell — magic
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. cap — of ice
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spell — a short time
  23. squash — the sport
  24. sharp — exactly

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