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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. charge — in control
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. capital — a city
  5. clip — to cut
  6. charge — electricity
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. face — to confront
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pit — in a race
  11. mark — a trace
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pit — a hole
  14. mark — a grade
  15. clip — a video
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. charge — a price
  18. capital — money
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cold — not warm
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. face — part of the head
  24. safe — out of danger

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