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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 120 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bound — obliged
  6. net — after costs
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. file — a document
  10. mine — for digging
  11. last — final
  12. charge — electricity
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. last — finally
  15. pit — in a race
  16. file — a tool
  17. net — for catching
  18. last — to go on
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bound — certain
  22. charge — a price
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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