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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. track — a path
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. last — final
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. clip — to cut
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. track — a song
  12. last — to go on
  13. cell — a phone
  14. clip — a video
  15. charge — electricity
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. last — finally
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. charge — a price
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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