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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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468
Word bank
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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stand — to bear
  4. snap — to click
  5. charge — in control
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — in a race
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bass — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. charge — a price
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. bass — low music
  22. plane — a tool
  23. march — the month
  24. spring — a coil

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