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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: hide · rock · bass · wound · land · dip · clip · charge

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. charge — a price
  3. land — to come down
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. land — ground
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rock — a stone
  9. charge — electricity
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — a video
  12. wound — an injury
  13. dip — to sink
  14. rock — music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. land — a country
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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