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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. charge — electricity
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wound — an injury
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. season — of the year
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. present — a gift
  13. charge — in control
  14. row — a line
  15. bear — the animal
  16. hand — help
  17. present — the time now
  18. hand — in cards
  19. march — music
  20. wound — an injury
  21. season — in sport
  22. march — the month
  23. charge — a price
  24. march — the month

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