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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 116 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
468
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: shower · charge · march · hide · leaves · ruler · clip · pitch

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. charge — in control
  3. march — music
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — for paper
  6. charge — a price
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pitch — completely
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. charge — electricity
  22. march — the month
  23. clip — a video
  24. shower — rain

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