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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fine — all right
  4. march — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. fine — high quality
  7. perch — the fish
  8. clip — to cut
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bore — to tire
  16. march — the month
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. plane — a tool
  19. spell — a short time
  20. clip — for paper
  21. march — the month
  22. charge — electricity
  23. charge — in control
  24. fine — a penalty

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