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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. spell — letters
  4. charge — a price
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. present — there
  7. row — a line
  8. firm — a company
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. charge — in control
  11. mine — for digging
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. firm — decided
  15. spell — a short time
  16. present — a gift
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. row — to paddle
  19. present — the time now
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spell — magic
  23. firm — steady
  24. bat — the animal

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