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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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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: clip · jam · fall · land · shower · bound · snap · charge

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. land — a country
  4. bound — obliged
  5. shower — rain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. charge — in control
  10. clip — a video
  11. fall — to drop
  12. snap — to click
  13. fall — the season
  14. bound — certain
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. fall — to drop
  17. land — ground
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. clip — to cut
  20. charge — a price
  21. shower — to wash
  22. charge — electricity
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. clip — for paper

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