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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. club — for dancing
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. charge — in control
  5. charge — electricity
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. club — for golf
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pop — music
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pop — to visit
  13. scale — size or range
  14. row — a line
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pop — soda
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. scale — in music
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. row — to paddle
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bore — to drill
  24. club — a group

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