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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 116 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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. staff — employees
  9. plane — a tool
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. staff — employees
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. charge — a price
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. clip — a video
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. charge — in control
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. staff — a stick
  24. chip — in a computer

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