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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 116 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. clip — for paper
  4. press — to push
  5. shower — rain
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — a price
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. charge — in control
  12. shower — to wash
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. clip — to cut
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cold — not warm
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. clip — a video
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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