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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bound — obliged
  3. net — after costs
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. chip — to eat
  8. rash — hasty
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bound — certain
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. land — a country
  13. squash — the sport
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bound — tied together
  17. net — for catching
  18. rash — a series
  19. charge — in control
  20. net — in sport
  21. charge — a price
  22. squash — to crush
  23. chip — for betting
  24. squash — the vegetable

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