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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. fine — all right
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cell — a phone
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. march — music
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. charge — electricity
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. charge — a price
  12. cell — in biology
  13. charge — in control
  14. stock — goods
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stock — shares
  17. fine — high quality
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kid — child
  21. rash — hasty
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rash — on the skin

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