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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. charge — in control
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. charge — a price
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. saw — the tool
  16. sharp — clever
  17. clip — a video
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. charge — electricity
  21. chip — to eat
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. chip — for betting

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