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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. pit — a hole
  4. rash — hasty
  5. clip — a video
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. pit — in a race
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. charge — a price
  15. rash — a series
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. capital — money
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. rash — on the skin
  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