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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. charge — electricity
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. charge — a price
  6. cold — not warm
  7. club — for golf
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fall — the season
  10. rash — a series
  11. fall — to drop
  12. charge — in control
  13. rash — hasty
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. mate — to breed
  16. club — for dancing
  17. mate — a partner
  18. club — a group
  19. mate — a friend
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. toast — bread
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rash — on the skin

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