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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 stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. charge — in control
  3. charge — a price
  4. fall — to drop
  5. foot — a measure
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fall — the season
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. clip — a video
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. swing — to play on
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. kid — to tease
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kid — child
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. charge — electricity

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