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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. clip — a video
  4. rash — a series
  5. spell — letters
  6. net — for catching
  7. rash — hasty
  8. charge — electricity
  9. clip — for paper
  10. net — in sport
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. chip — to eat
  16. net — after costs
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. spell — a short time
  19. charge — a price
  20. spell — magic
  21. chip — for betting
  22. kid — child
  23. clip — to cut
  24. charge — in control

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