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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. suit — to fit
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. charge — electricity
  11. date — the fruit
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. charge — in control
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. shower — to wash
  19. clip — to cut
  20. suit — clothes
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. suit — in cards
  23. charge — a price
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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