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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. clip — to cut
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — in control
  5. bound — certain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. charge — a price
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. key — in music
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — to wash
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. staff — a stick
  19. key — the most important part
  20. game — a match
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wake — a trail
  23. game — wild animals
  24. staff — employees

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