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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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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: cold · bat · clip · club · charge · pass · stick · lash

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cold — not warm
  3. club — for dancing
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — in control
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. club — a group
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. club — for golf
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cold — an illness
  23. charge — a price
  24. pass — a permit

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