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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
468
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 · file · clip · straw · cabinet · charge · bowl · arm

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. land — a country
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. charge — in control
  9. land — to come down
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. charge — electricity
  12. land — ground
  13. file — a document
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. file — a tool
  18. charge — a price
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a line of people
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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