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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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468
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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. charge — in control
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. charge — electricity
  7. kid — child
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. drill — a practice
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cold — not warm
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. charge — a price
  17. drill — the tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. drill — army training
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. cold — an illness
  24. leaves — lets stay

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