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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.

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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: fine · perch · key · bat · clip · wind · snap · charge

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. charge — electricity
  5. fine — high quality
  6. perch — the fish
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. clip — to cut
  9. charge — a price
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bat — the animal
  12. clip — a video
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. key — in music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. charge — in control
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fine — all right
  21. clip — for paper
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. snap — to click
  24. key — for a lock

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