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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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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: charge · bulb · race · file · bat · clip · bore · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. race — humankind
  3. file — a document
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. charge — a price
  6. clip — for paper
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a tool
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bore — to drill
  11. clip — a video
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. race — a contest
  16. clip — to cut
  17. file — a line of people
  18. charge — electricity
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bulb — for light
  21. charge — in control
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bat — the animal

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