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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. charge — electricity
  4. bear — the animal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pass — a permit
  9. degree — an amount
  10. charge — a price
  11. clip — a video
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. club — for golf
  14. degree — from a university
  15. club — a group
  16. mine — for digging
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bear — the animal
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. degree — temperature
  23. club — for dancing
  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