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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. charge — a price
  3. object — a thing
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. charge — in control
  7. chest — a box
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chest — of your body
  11. object — to protest
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. clip — a video
  16. cap — of ice
  17. object — an aim
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chip — for betting
  22. clip — to cut
  23. charge — electricity
  24. pound — for dogs

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