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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: bat · clip · ball · spring · mark · mug · charge · season

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. clip — a video
  3. ball — a dance
  4. clip — for paper
  5. charge — a price
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mug — a face
  8. spring — the season
  9. ball — a great time
  10. charge — in control
  11. season — of the year
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. spring — a coil
  14. clip — to cut
  15. charge — electricity
  16. spring — of water
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. season — in sport
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a cup
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bat — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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