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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. can — a tin
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. can — to be able to
  7. march — the month
  8. can — a tin
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. wake — a trail
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. charge — a price
  15. charge — in control
  16. march — music
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. last — to go on
  23. march — the month
  24. fork — in a road

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