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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 116 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. club — for golf
  4. mug — a face
  5. spring — a coil
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. rash — a series
  8. charge — electricity
  9. squash — the sport
  10. mug — to rob
  11. club — for dancing
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — in control
  14. face — part of the head
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. rule — government
  18. face — to confront
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mug — a cup
  21. face — to point toward
  22. club — a group
  23. squash — to crush
  24. rule — a law

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