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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: charge · file · stick · wind · bowl · clip

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. file — a line of people
  6. clip — a video
  7. charge — electricity
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. charge — a price
  10. clip — to cut
  11. file — a tool
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a document
  17. charge — in control
  18. clip — for paper

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