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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. track — a path
  3. charge — in control
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. press — a publisher
  6. charge — electricity
  7. clip — to cut
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. sharp — clever
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. press — to push
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. press — newspapers
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. clip — a video
  19. charge — a price
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. kick — in football

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