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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. charge — electricity
  3. saw — the tool
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. charge — a price
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. lie — to recline
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. land — to come down
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. charge — in control
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tube — a container
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. land — a country
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. land — ground

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