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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 had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. charge — electricity
  3. swing — to play on
  4. charge — in control
  5. charge — a price
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. swing — in golf
  9. hand — in cards
  10. ground — the earth
  11. row — a line
  12. cold — an illness
  13. club — for golf
  14. ground — crushed
  15. swing — music
  16. ground — a position
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cold — not warm
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — a group
  21. hand — help
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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