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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — in control
  3. mark — a trace
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. date — the fruit
  7. file — a tool
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mark — a grade
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. file — a document
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. charge — a price
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. file — a line of people
  21. clip — a video
  22. track — a song
  23. clip — for paper
  24. plane — a tool

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