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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: charge · cap · saw · bass · date · clip · court · row

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bass — low music
  4. charge — electricity
  5. court — of law
  6. row — a line
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — of a king
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cap — of ice
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cap — a lid
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. charge — a price
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cap — a hat
  20. row — to paddle
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. charge — in control
  23. court — for sport
  24. date — on the calendar

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