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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. cold — not warm
  3. current — happening now
  4. spring — the season
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cold — an illness
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. current — electric
  12. charge — a price
  13. current — of water
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. object — a thing
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mug — a face
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. row — to paddle
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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