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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. land — ground
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chip — to eat
  5. kick — in football
  6. net — after costs
  7. chip — for betting
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. land — to come down
  10. file — a document
  11. wound — an injury
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. net — for catching
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. charge — a price
  19. land — a country
  20. charge — in control
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. net — in sport

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