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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bass · clip · toast · charge · land · deal · sharp · cold

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. land — to come down
  3. clip — for paper
  4. land — a country
  5. cold — not warm
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. land — ground
  8. bass — low music
  9. toast — bread
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. charge — electricity
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. charge — in control
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. charge — a price
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cold — an illness
  21. clip — a video
  22. bass — the fish
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cold — the Cold War

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