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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. clip — to cut
  3. file — a line of people
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. land — ground
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bear — the animal
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — not warm
  13. charge — a price
  14. bear — the animal
  15. land — a country
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. charge — electricity
  19. clip — a video
  20. file — a tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. charge — in control
  23. file — a document
  24. safe — out of danger

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