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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. roll — a list
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. charge — a price
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. perch — the fish
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bat — the animal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. roll — a cake
  23. charge — in control
  24. mouse — for 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