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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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. spring — of water
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — for sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitch — completely
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. last — finally
  11. track — a path
  12. last — to go on
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. track — a song
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. charge — electricity
  18. perch — the fish
  19. charge — in control
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. last — final

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