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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — a group
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. spell — letters
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. charge — a price
  10. can — a tin
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. file — a document
  16. spell — magic
  17. charge — in control
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. charge — electricity

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