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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. charge — a price
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — to bear
  7. charge — in control
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. clip — a video
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — of the year
  16. bound — certain
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. mine — for digging

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