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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wind — moving air
  3. charge — a price
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wind — moving air
  6. charge — in control
  7. clip — a video
  8. charge — electricity
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — for paper
  15. kid — child
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wake — a trail
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. press — to push
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wake — before a funeral

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