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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. ball — a great time
  3. charge — a price
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pitch — completely
  10. file — a document
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. charge — electricity
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. file — a tool
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. charge — in control
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fork — in a road
  24. land — to come down

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