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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.

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: row · charge · clip · kid · calf · pop · mate · saw

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. mate — a friend
  4. row — a line
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mate — to breed
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pop — music
  11. kid — child
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pop — to visit
  17. row — to paddle
  18. clip — a video
  19. kid — to tease
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — to cut
  23. charge — in control
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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