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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. chest — a box
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. spring — of water
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. charge — in control
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pit — in a race
  13. kid — child
  14. stand — to bear
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chest — of your body
  18. charge — electricity
  19. pit — a hole
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. clip — to cut
  22. charge — a price
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitcher — a jug

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