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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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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fine — all right
  3. charge — in control
  4. field — a subject
  5. cap — of ice
  6. clip — a video
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cap — a hat
  9. field — for sport
  10. squash — the sport
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. charge — a price
  13. field — farmland
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. squash — to crush
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — high quality
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. clip — to cut
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. arm — part of the body

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