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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. track — to keep track
  3. charge — a price
  4. fall — to drop
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fall — the season
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. track — a path
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rash — a series
  17. track — a song
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fall — to drop
  22. charge — in control
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bat — in an idiom

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