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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. charge — a price
  3. file — a tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mark — a trace
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. charge — electricity
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. charge — in control
  12. drill — army training
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chest — a box
  16. file — a document
  17. ground — a position
  18. net — after costs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pass — a permit
  22. drill — the tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mark — a grade

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