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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 · chest · clip · content · arm · cap · court · pit

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pit — a hole
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. court — of law
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — for paper
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — electricity
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. court — for sport
  15. cap — a hat
  16. court — of a king
  17. pit — in a race
  18. chest — a box
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. charge — a price
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — happy
  24. arm — part of the body

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