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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — to cut
  3. charge — a price
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. charge — electricity
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stand — to bear
  11. cell — a phone
  12. clip — a video
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. branch — a division
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. charge — in control
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. row — a line
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. row — to paddle

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