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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. clip — for paper
  4. land — a country
  5. last — finally
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. rash — hasty
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. charge — in control
  15. last — to go on
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — a video
  18. rash — a series
  19. last — final
  20. charge — electricity
  21. shower — to wash
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — to come down
  24. shower — rain

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