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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. charge — a price
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. track — a song
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — to go on
  9. track — a path
  10. spell — magic
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. last — final
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. last — finally
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — electricity
  22. track — to keep track
  23. mine — for digging
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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