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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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Word bank
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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: stand · face · racket · charge · spring · clip · mate · wind

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. charge — electricity
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spring — a coil
  7. charge — a price
  8. stand — to bear
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. clip — to cut
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — part of the head
  16. charge — in control
  17. spring — the season
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. face — to point toward
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. spring — of water
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wind — moving air

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