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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · hide · charge · wound · last · hand · bore · rule

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bore — to drill
  5. rule — government
  6. last — finally
  7. charge — electricity
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. last — to go on
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. clip — to cut
  14. charge — a price
  15. wound — an injury
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bore — to tire
  19. last — final
  20. clip — a video
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rule — a law
  23. wound — an injury
  24. charge — in control

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