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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. prune — to trim
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. rash — a series
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. game — a match
  17. charge — in control
  18. rash — hasty
  19. game — wild animals
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. prune — to trim
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. deal — to handle

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