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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 116 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. mate — a partner
  3. spell — magic
  4. mate — a friend
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. charge — electricity
  7. file — a line of people
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. craft — boats
  12. spell — letters
  13. file — a tool
  14. craft — a skill
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. charge — a price
  17. mate — to breed
  18. charge — in control
  19. game — a match
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spell — a short time

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