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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. stem — to come from
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. charge — electricity
  12. mate — a friend
  13. charge — in control
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. game — a match
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pound — a weight

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