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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bound — certain
  6. track — a path
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bound — obliged
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. charge — in control
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — a break
  18. row — a line
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bound — tied together
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fine — all right
  24. row — to paddle

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