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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · mate · present · wax · charge · clip · bass · staff

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wax — to grow
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. clip — a video
  5. charge — a price
  6. staff — employees
  7. mate — to breed
  8. kid — to tease
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bass — the fish
  12. present — the time now
  13. staff — employees
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. kid — child
  16. mate — a partner
  17. present — there
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. clip — to cut
  21. charge — in control
  22. present — a gift
  23. bass — low music
  24. staff — a stick

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