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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. file — a tool
  3. charge — in control
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. land — to come down
  6. clip — to cut
  7. scale — in music
  8. charge — a price
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. race — the arms race
  11. scale — size or range
  12. board — to get on
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — ground
  16. file — a document
  17. board — a committee
  18. charge — electricity
  19. race — humankind
  20. land — a country
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. race — a contest
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. file — a line of people

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