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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cold — an illness
  6. net — after costs
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. charge — a price
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. net — in sport
  17. clip — to cut
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. clip — a video
  20. rock — a stone
  21. fine — high quality
  22. charge — in control
  23. net — for catching
  24. cold — the Cold War

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