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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. key — for a lock
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. key — the most important part
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. row — a line
  13. fine — all right
  14. charge — a price
  15. mine — for digging
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. key — in music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. charge — in control
  24. fine — high quality

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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