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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: kick · chair · wound · saw · season · charge · clip · cabinet

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. charge — electricity
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wound — an injury
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. season — of the year
  8. saw — the tool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. chair — a leader
  11. season — in sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. clip — a video
  15. charge — a price
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. charge — in control
  19. kick — in football
  20. saw — the tool
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. 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