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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. clip — to cut
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. charge — in control
  5. swing — music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. swing — to play on
  9. rest — a break
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. ground — a position
  12. foot — a measure
  13. content — happy
  14. swing — in golf
  15. rest — what's left
  16. ground — the earth
  17. content — the amount
  18. ground — crushed
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. charge — a price
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. clip — a video
  24. rest — what's left

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