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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — electricity
  3. march — music
  4. swing — music
  5. row — a line
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. row — to paddle
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. swing — in golf
  19. charge — in control
  20. swing — to play on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wake — a trail

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