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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. file — a tool
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pass — a permit
  5. land — to come down
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. file — a document
  8. spell — letters
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. tear — from crying
  11. land — ground
  12. charge — electricity
  13. spell — magic
  14. spring — the season
  15. land — a country
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. charge — a price
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spell — a short time
  24. trunk — of a car

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