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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. charge — electricity
  3. swing — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — a price
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. swing — in golf
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. cold — an illness
  16. face — to confront
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kid — child
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stock — a soup base

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