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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stand — to bear
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. charge — electricity
  5. spell — magic
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. spell — letters
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. charge — a price
  11. charge — in control
  12. clip — a video
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. clip — to cut
  15. chip — to eat
  16. spell — a short time
  17. chip — for betting
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. kid — child
  24. stem — to come from

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