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

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. march — the month
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. march — music
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. march — the month
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rule — a law
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. file — a tool
  16. charge — a price
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. charge — in control
  22. file — a document
  23. rule — government
  24. ball — a dance

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