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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cue — a signal
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bass — low music
  10. object — to protest
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — for pool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. charge — in control
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — a thing
  18. file — a tool
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. file — a document
  22. charge — a price
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bass — the fish

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