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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. clip — for paper
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. foot — a measure
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. clip — to cut
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. branch — a division
  15. sharp — clever
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. charge — a price
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. charge — in control
  24. clip — a video

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