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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spell — a short time
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. charge — electricity
  5. field — farmland
  6. mate — a friend
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mate — to breed
  11. field — for sport
  12. stand — to bear
  13. chair — a leader
  14. spell — letters
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. field — a subject
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. charge — in control
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. spell — magic
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. charge — a price

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