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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — electricity
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. bat — the animal
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. craft — a skill
  7. file — a document
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. file — a tool
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. charge — in control
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spring — the season
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. craft — boats

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