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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. charge — a price
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cold — not warm
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. present — the time now
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. foot — a measure
  17. charge — electricity
  18. pound — a weight
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. present — there
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. charge — in control

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