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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. chair — a leader
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rest — what's left
  6. charge — in control
  7. ground — crushed
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rest — what's left
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rest — a break
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bass — low music
  21. file — a tool
  22. bass — the fish
  23. rash — a series
  24. chair — to sit on

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