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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. charge — electricity
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — a price
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. date — the fruit
  9. toast — bread
  10. stem — to come from
  11. kid — child
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mine — for digging
  16. net — for catching
  17. kid — to tease
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. net — after costs

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