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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. court — of a king
  3. drill — army training
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spring — of water
  10. charge — a price
  11. saw — the tool
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. spring — a coil
  14. saw — the tool
  15. court — for sport
  16. drill — the tool
  17. ground — crushed
  18. charge — in control
  19. drill — a practice
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. ground — a position
  22. court — of law
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — the season

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