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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — in control
  4. mine — for digging
  5. charge — a price
  6. field — a subject
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. clip — a video
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. game — a match
  14. bulb — for light
  15. clip — for paper
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. bulb — for light
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. clip — to cut

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