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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rule — a law
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. charge — electricity
  9. rule — government
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. march — the month
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. charge — in control
  15. march — music
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — the month
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cold — the Cold War

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