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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — moving air
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. tube — a container
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. land — ground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — a country
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — a price
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tube — the underground
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — a group

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