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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 116 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. charge — in control
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. charge — a price
  13. clip — a video
  14. spell — letters
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. clip — for paper
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wake — a trail

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