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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. charge — electricity
  3. object — a thing
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. charge — a price
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. march — the month
  11. charge — in control
  12. march — the month
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. object — to protest
  15. march — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. fork — in a road
  21. kid — child
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. object — an aim
  24. fork — to eat with

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