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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. race — the arms race
  6. charge — a price
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. season — in sport
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. field — for sport
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. charge — in control
  17. wake — a trail
  18. field — farmland
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. file — a line of people
  21. season — of the year
  22. field — a subject
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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