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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rule — government
  7. game — a match
  8. clip — a video
  9. charge — in control
  10. last — final
  11. land — ground
  12. charge — electricity
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. land — a country
  16. rule — a law
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. land — to come down
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mouse — for a computer

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