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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 120 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. tear — to rip
  3. charge — in control
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stem — to come from
  7. charge — a price
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — final
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rule — government
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. last — finally
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rule — a law
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. last — to go on
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. game — a match

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