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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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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: land · squash · charge · row · content · clip · rush · rule

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. land — ground
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. clip — a video
  6. rule — a law
  7. content — the amount
  8. row — a line
  9. squash — to crush
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. land — a country
  12. squash — the sport
  13. clip — to cut
  14. land — to come down
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rule — government
  18. content — happy
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. charge — a price
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. charge — in control
  23. rule — to rule out
  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