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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. board — to get on
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mine — for digging
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. charge — in control
  12. firm — decided
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. board — a committee
  15. firm — steady
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. spring — the season
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cell — a phone
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — electricity
  24. firm — a company

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