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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. clip — for paper
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. last — final
  7. squash — the sport
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. clip — a video
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. charge — in control
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. clip — to cut
  21. charge — electricity
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. charge — a price

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