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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. shower — to wash
  3. charge — in control
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. board — to get on
  8. ball — a dance
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — for betting
  11. shower — rain
  12. charge — a price
  13. tear — to rip
  14. board — a committee
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. ball — a great time
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. chip — in a computer

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