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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. clip — for paper
  4. charge — a price
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. craft — a skill
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. clip — to cut
  9. charge — in control
  10. staff — employees
  11. march — the month
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. dip — to sink
  15. clip — a video
  16. staff — employees
  17. craft — boats
  18. staff — a stick
  19. tube — a container
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. kick — in football
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. tube — the underground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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