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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cold — an illness
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. charge — a price
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. march — the month
  12. vault — a safe
  13. stock — shares
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. charge — in control
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — the month
  22. stock — goods
  23. march — music
  24. cold — not warm

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