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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. charge — electricity
  3. rest — what's left
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. swing — in golf
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. hand — help
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — hurry
  18. swing — music
  19. charge — a price
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rest — a break
  23. hand — in cards
  24. charge — in control

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