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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. charge — a price
  4. file — a tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. charge — in control
  7. key — the most important part
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. charge — electricity
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. clip — to cut
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. saw — the tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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