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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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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. charge — in control
  5. game — wild animals
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. clip — for paper
  14. charge — electricity
  15. net — for catching
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. clip — a video
  18. game — a match
  19. charge — a price
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. sharp — clever
  22. object — a thing
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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