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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. kid — child
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rash — a series
  5. charge — electricity
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rash — hasty
  9. kid — to tease
  10. branch — a division
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. drill — the tool
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. drill — a practice
  19. charge — in control
  20. drill — army training
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. charge — a price
  24. straw — a straw man

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