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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. game — wild animals
  4. charge — electricity
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stem — to come from
  11. charge — in control
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. game — a match
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. swing — in golf
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. swing — music
  24. arm — a part of something

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