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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 120 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. charge — in control
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. clip — a video
  13. content — the amount
  14. charge — electricity
  15. content — happy
  16. charge — a price
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fall — the season
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ruler — a monarch

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