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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. clip — to cut
  7. toast — bread
  8. bound — tied together
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. charge — in control
  14. rush — hurry
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. spell — letters
  18. bound — certain
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. clip — a video
  21. spell — magic
  22. wind — moving air
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. pitcher — a jug

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