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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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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 get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. swing — in golf
  3. charge — electricity
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. charge — a price
  10. drill — the tool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. shower — to wash
  13. drill — a practice
  14. file — a tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. charge — in control
  19. file — a document
  20. drill — army training
  21. present — there
  22. lie — to recline
  23. present — the time now
  24. swing — music

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