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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. charge — a price
  3. net — in sport
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. season — in sport
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rock — music
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. fork — in a road
  12. file — a line of people
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. charge — in control
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. file — a document
  19. swing — to play on
  20. season — of the year
  21. file — a tool
  22. rock — a stone
  23. charge — electricity
  24. swing — music

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