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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. rush — hurry
  5. charge — in control
  6. object — a thing
  7. track — a song
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. hand — help
  11. object — to protest
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. object — an aim
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. track — a path
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. charge — electricity

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