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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. swing — to play on
  3. charge — in control
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spell — letters
  9. swing — music
  10. charge — a price
  11. spell — a short time
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. kid — child
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tube — a container
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. spell — magic

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