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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — a video
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. clip — to cut
  6. content — the amount
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bank — for money
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bank — of a river
  12. kid — child
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. charge — electricity
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — to tease
  19. charge — in control
  20. content — happy
  21. charge — a price
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. content — videos and posts

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