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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a cake
  5. charge — a price
  6. row — to paddle
  7. charge — electricity
  8. roll — a list
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — a law
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. charge — in control
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rule — government
  24. row — a line

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