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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. clip — to cut
  3. track — a path
  4. hand — help
  5. charge — a price
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. track — to keep track
  9. present — there
  10. clip — for paper
  11. track — a song
  12. clip — a video
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. charge — electricity
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. present — the time now
  22. cold — not warm
  23. present — a gift
  24. charge — in control

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