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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. clip — a video
  4. land — to come down
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. charge — electricity
  13. land — a country
  14. object — a thing
  15. land — ground
  16. object — an aim
  17. charge — in control
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pitch — completely
  24. object — to protest

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