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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. land — to come down
  3. clip — for paper
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rule — government
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. plane — a tool
  13. charge — in control
  14. face — to point toward
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. charge — a price
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — a law

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