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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. charge — electricity
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. race — a contest
  10. clip — a video
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. charge — a price
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. tear — to rip
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — to cut
  22. race — humankind
  23. land — a country
  24. tear — from crying

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