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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. charge — a price
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. chip — to eat
  10. land — to come down
  11. file — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rock — music
  15. charge — in control
  16. file — a document
  17. charge — electricity
  18. land — ground
  19. chest — a box
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rock — a stone
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. pass — a permit

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