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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. last — to go on
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. snap — to click
  6. charge — in control
  7. wound — an injury
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ball — a dance
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — finally
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. march — the month
  18. charge — a price
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. march — music
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. last — final
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wound — an injury

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