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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. craft — boats
  5. drill — a practice
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. charge — in control
  8. season — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. stem — to come from
  17. drill — the tool
  18. craft — a skill
  19. saw — the tool
  20. charge — a price
  21. drill — army training
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. craft — a handicraft

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