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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. tear — from crying
  3. board — a committee
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. clip — for paper
  9. craft — a skill
  10. charge — electricity
  11. stock — shares
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pop — soda
  14. craft — boats
  15. stock — goods
  16. clip — a video
  17. pop — to visit
  18. spring — of water
  19. pop — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. charge — in control
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. spring — a coil
  24. board — to get on

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