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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. scale — size or range
  5. march — music
  6. lean — thin
  7. march — the month
  8. club — for golf
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. stem — to come from
  11. clip — for paper
  12. march — the month
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. club — a group
  15. clip — a video
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. club — for dancing
  19. lean — to bend
  20. charge — in control
  21. scale — in music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stem — of a plant

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