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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. court — of law
  3. ground — a position
  4. swing — to play on
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. ground — the earth
  7. court — of a king
  8. current — of water
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. ground — crushed
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. charge — in control
  13. tear — from crying
  14. charge — a price
  15. tube — the underground
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. court — for sport
  18. current — electric
  19. tube — a container
  20. tear — from crying
  21. swing — music
  22. current — happening now
  23. tear — to rip
  24. swing — in golf

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