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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: season · bore · charge · present · staff · clip · scale · fall

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. bore — to tire
  3. present — a gift
  4. charge — electricity
  5. fall — the season
  6. season — in sport
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bore — to drill
  11. present — the time now
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — for paper
  15. scale — in music
  16. fall — to drop
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fall — to drop
  19. staff — a stick
  20. clip — a video
  21. scale — size or range
  22. charge — in control
  23. season — of the year
  24. present — there

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