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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. net — in sport
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cap — of ice
  8. clip — to cut
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. charge — a price
  11. staff — employees
  12. rock — a stone
  13. clip — a video
  14. hand — help
  15. rock — music
  16. clip — for paper
  17. net — for catching
  18. staff — employees
  19. hand — in cards
  20. staff — a stick
  21. march — the month
  22. charge — in control
  23. net — after costs
  24. march — music

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