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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tear — to rip
  3. charge — a price
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spell — magic
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. mine — for digging
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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