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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: pop · cell · present · wound · charge · jam · clip · net

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. clip — a video
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. pop — music
  5. charge — electricity
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pop — soda
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cell — in biology
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. pop — to visit
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. charge — in control
  20. net — after costs
  21. charge — a price
  22. wound — an injury
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cell — in a prison

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