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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 124 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. charge — electricity
  3. capital — money
  4. charge — a price
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mate — to breed
  7. date — the fruit
  8. mate — a friend
  9. charge — in control
  10. clip — a video
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. mate — a partner
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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