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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. shower — to wash
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. bore — to drill
  7. shower — rain
  8. stock — shares
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. charge — a price
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pop — to visit
  13. capital — money
  14. stock — goods
  15. squash — the sport
  16. charge — in control
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. squash — to crush
  21. capital — a city
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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