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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. land — ground
  2. charge — electricity
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. season — in sport
  6. land — to come down
  7. charge — a price
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wound — an injury
  10. land — a country
  11. last — final
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. squash — to crush
  15. drill — a practice
  16. last — to go on
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. drill — army training
  19. season — of the year
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. last — finally
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wound — an injury
  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