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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. clip — to cut
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — boats
  6. charge — in control
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. clip — a video
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bat — the animal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. face — to confront
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wake — a trail
  20. face — to point toward
  21. vault — a safe
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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