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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. charge — electricity
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spell — letters
  8. charge — in control
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. perch — the fish
  11. fall — the season
  12. spell — magic
  13. rash — hasty
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. charge — a price
  17. rash — a series
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pound — a weight
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — to sit on

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