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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: charge · bound · row · mate · clip · rule · last · straw

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. last — finally
  3. rule — a law
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — a video
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — in control
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. charge — electricity
  18. bound — tied together
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mate — a partner
  21. rule — government
  22. row — a line
  23. bound — certain
  24. row — to paddle

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