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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. charge — electricity
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. charge — a price
  5. row — to paddle
  6. clip — for paper
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. board — a committee
  9. clip — a video
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. land — to come down
  12. bound — obliged
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. row — a line
  16. bound — certain
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. board — to get on
  20. charge — in control
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. bound — tied together
  23. clip — to cut
  24. calf — a young animal

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