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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mate — a friend
  3. lean — thin
  4. field — farmland
  5. bass — low music
  6. key — in music
  7. chair — a leader
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. field — for sport
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. key — for a lock
  17. mate — to breed
  18. key — the most important part
  19. charge — in control
  20. lean — to bend
  21. charge — a price
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. field — a subject
  24. bore — to drill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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