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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 124 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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Word bank
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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. charge — in control
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. clip — a video
  7. charge — a price
  8. pit — a hole
  9. clip — for paper
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. game — a match
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — bread
  16. charge — electricity
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. game — wild animals
  20. clip — to cut
  21. snap — to click
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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