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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. last — to go on
  3. file — a tool
  4. last — final
  5. firm — a company
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. firm — steady
  8. chest — of your body
  9. shower — rain
  10. firm — decided
  11. shower — to wash
  12. charge — a price
  13. file — a document
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a hat
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. sharp — clever
  22. last — finally
  23. file — a line of people
  24. charge — in control

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