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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. chair — a leader
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. prune — to trim
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. charge — a price
  14. prune — to trim
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. shower — rain
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. fork — in a road
  24. charge — in control

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