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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. mate — a partner
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. file — a tool
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. charge — a price
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bound — tied together
  9. mate — to breed
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bound — obliged
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. charge — in control
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. file — a line of people
  19. kick — in football
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bound — certain
  24. file — a document

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