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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chair — a leader
  5. file — a tool
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. current — happening now
  10. ground — crushed
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — in control
  18. pound — a weight
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. file — a document

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