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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. cold — not warm
  3. charge — in control
  4. land — a country
  5. staff — employees
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — an illness
  15. row — to paddle
  16. staff — employees
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. charge — electricity
  23. charge — a price
  24. swing — to play on

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