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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. craft — a skill
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. capital — money
  6. charge — electricity
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. shower — rain
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — for paper
  14. craft — boats
  15. shower — to wash
  16. clip — a video
  17. plane — a tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. charge — a price
  24. capital — a city

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