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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. charge — electricity
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. charge — a price
  6. file — a line of people
  7. current — electric
  8. spring — of water
  9. chair — a leader
  10. prune — to trim
  11. current — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. prune — to trim
  17. file — a document
  18. rest — a break
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. file — a tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spring — the season
  23. current — happening now
  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