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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cell — in biology
  6. shower — rain
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. field — farmland
  11. roll — a list
  12. shower — to wash
  13. lie — to recline
  14. clip — a video
  15. charge — electricity
  16. field — a subject
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cell — a phone
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — for sport
  23. roll — a cake
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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