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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bound — certain
  5. spring — the season
  6. charge — in control
  7. deal — to handle
  8. spring — of water
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. bound — tied together
  13. charge — a price
  14. bound — obliged
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. file — a line of people

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