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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. swing — to play on
  3. charge — a price
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ground — the earth
  6. stock — shares
  7. staff — employees
  8. charge — electricity
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. row — a line
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wake — a trail
  16. staff — employees
  17. stock — goods
  18. swing — music
  19. charge — in control
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. row — to paddle

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