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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.

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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: board · clip · bound · charge · object · tear · ball · lean

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. object — a thing
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ball — a great time
  6. lean — thin
  7. object — an aim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — in control
  11. lean — to bend
  12. ball — a dance
  13. board — a committee
  14. object — to protest
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. board — to get on
  21. bound — certain
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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