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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. shower — to wash
  4. squash — to crush
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pitch — completely
  7. swing — to play on
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. present — the time now
  13. squash — the sport
  14. ball — a great time
  15. clip — for paper
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. present — there
  18. charge — a price
  19. swing — in golf
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. swing — music
  22. charge — electricity
  23. shower — rain
  24. present — a gift

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