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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — electricity
  4. wake — a trail
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — a video
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. season — in sport
  11. ground — the earth
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. field — a subject
  17. season — of the year
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. charge — in control
  21. ground — a position
  22. field — farmland
  23. ground — crushed
  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