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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fall — to drop
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. file — a tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. cell — in biology
  16. charge — in control
  17. cell — a phone
  18. net — after costs
  19. fall — the season
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pass — a permit
  22. net — in sport
  23. file — a document
  24. net — for catching

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