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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cell — in biology
  4. land — a country
  5. mine — for digging
  6. land — to come down
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cell — a phone
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. saw — the tool
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. band — a ring
  13. land — ground
  14. band — a music group
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. charge — electricity
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. charge — a price
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mine — an explosive

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