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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. spring — the season
  3. hand — help
  4. band — a ring
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mark — a grade
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spring — of water
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. charge — in control
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — a video
  21. charge — electricity
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mark — a trace

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