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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.

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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: clip · kick · cap · rash · charge · spring · court · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rash — a series
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. clip — a video
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. court — for sport
  9. charge — in control
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rash — hasty
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. cap — a hat
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. charge — electricity
  19. kick — in football
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spring — of water
  24. charge — a price

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