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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. file — a line of people
  3. land — a country
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. net — for catching
  6. chest — of your body
  7. clip — for paper
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. clip — a video
  11. file — a document
  12. cue — for pool
  13. charge — electricity
  14. file — a tool
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chest — a box
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — a signal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. charge — a price
  21. net — in sport
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. net — after costs
  24. clip — to cut

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