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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. drill — the tool
  3. current — electric
  4. charge — in control
  5. club — a group
  6. staff — a stick
  7. charge — a price
  8. staff — employees
  9. face — to point toward
  10. drill — army training
  11. field — farmland
  12. staff — employees
  13. face — part of the head
  14. club — for golf
  15. face — to confront
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. current — happening now
  18. charge — electricity
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. current — of water
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. chair — a leader
  24. drill — a practice

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