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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 116 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. land — to come down
  3. charge — a price
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. row — to paddle
  6. object — an aim
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. row — a line
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. land — a country
  11. spell — a short time
  12. charge — in control
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. rush — hurry
  15. object — a thing
  16. land — ground
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. charge — electricity
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. spell — letters
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. spell — magic
  24. saw — the tool

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