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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. hand — in cards
  5. clip — a video
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rule — government
  9. hand — help
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rule — a law
  16. charge — in control
  17. tear — to rip
  18. clip — to cut
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. charge — electricity
  22. rock — music
  23. charge — a price
  24. calf — of the leg

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