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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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Word bank
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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. march — music
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spring — a coil
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — in control
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spring — of water
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mate — to breed
  11. swing — music
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mate — a partner
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — a series
  18. swing — in golf
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spring — the season
  21. swing — to play on
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. tear — from crying

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