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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. charge — a price
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. charge — electricity
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rock — music
  9. staff — employees
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. staff — employees
  14. chair — a leader
  15. game — a match
  16. charge — in control
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rock — a stone
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. staff — a stick

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