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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. charge — in control
  3. wind — moving air
  4. charge — electricity
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mug — a cup
  7. clip — to cut
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mug — a face
  11. charge — a price
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. land — ground
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. clip — a video
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kick — in football
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. degree — from a university
  23. land — a country
  24. mug — to rob

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