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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. snap — to click
  3. bulb — for light
  4. last — finally
  5. charge — electricity
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. last — final
  10. kid — child
  11. last — to go on
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — to tease
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — rain
  23. land — a country
  24. charge — a price

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