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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. rest — what's left
  3. object — to protest
  4. pop — to visit
  5. object — an aim
  6. chip — for betting
  7. pop — music
  8. chip — to eat
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tear — to rip
  12. object — a thing
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pop — soda
  17. rest — what's left
  18. file — a document
  19. tear — from crying
  20. charge — in control
  21. ground — crushed
  22. charge — a price
  23. file — a tool
  24. rest — a break

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