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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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468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — electricity
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. spell — magic
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. spell — letters
  9. deal — to handle
  10. charge — in control
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — for paper
  16. date — the fruit
  17. spell — a short time
  18. clip — a video
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. clip — to cut
  24. deal — a big deal

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