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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. roll — a cake
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. roll — a list
  7. clip — for paper
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lean — thin
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. charge — electricity
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. charge — a price
  22. fall — the season
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. date — the fruit

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