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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. net — in sport
  4. can — a tin
  5. bat — the animal
  6. press — newspapers
  7. spring — of water
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. charge — a price
  10. net — for catching
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. can — to be able to
  16. net — after costs
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spring — the season
  21. charge — in control
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. can — a tin
  24. cold — an illness

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