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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. present — the time now
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. charge — in control
  7. rash — hasty
  8. charge — electricity
  9. field — a subject
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stand — to bear
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. present — there
  15. rash — a series
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. present — a gift
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stand — on your feet

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