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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — in control
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. hand — help
  9. rush — hurry
  10. file — a line of people
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. hand — in cards
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a document
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. file — a tool
  22. deal — to handle
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. charge — a price

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