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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: fan · charge · cold · cap · stock · clip · wake · board

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cold — not warm
  3. clip — a video
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. board — to get on
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. cold — an illness
  14. clip — to cut
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — a price
  17. wake — a trail
  18. board — a committee
  19. cap — of ice
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. charge — electricity

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