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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 124 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. file — a document
  5. mark — a grade
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. net — in sport
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mark — a trace
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cap — a lid
  15. charge — in control
  16. file — a tool
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cap — a hat
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. charge — a price
  22. tear — from crying
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cap — of ice

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