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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
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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: mate · game · bear · charge · coach · spring · clip · rock

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. charge — electricity
  3. mate — to breed
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mate — a friend
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — music
  12. game — a match
  13. spring — of water
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. charge — in control
  19. clip — a video
  20. spring — the season
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. charge — a price
  23. spring — a coil
  24. clip — to cut

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