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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. file — a tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. net — after costs
  8. date — the fruit
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. present — there
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. present — the time now
  16. pitch — completely
  17. file — a line of people
  18. charge — in control
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. file — a document
  23. present — a gift
  24. pitch — a sports field

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