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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 116 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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. present — there
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mug — a face
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. charge — in control
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to click
  13. spell — letters
  14. wind — moving air
  15. present — a gift
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. present — the time now
  18. mug — a cup
  19. spell — magic
  20. charge — a price
  21. mug — to rob
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. spell — a short time

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