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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. file — a line of people
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spell — a short time
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. kid — to tease
  7. club — for golf
  8. charge — in control
  9. kid — child
  10. spring — the season
  11. spell — magic
  12. club — a group
  13. file — a document
  14. rule — government
  15. club — for dancing
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. row — a line
  19. rule — a law
  20. charge — a price
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spell — letters
  24. file — a tool

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