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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. charge — electricity
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. last — to go on
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. squash — to crush
  8. sharp — clever
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. charge — a price
  11. last — finally
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. last — final
  22. march — the month
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wind — moving air

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