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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cold — an illness
  6. charge — in control
  7. mate — to breed
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. prune — to trim
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. charge — electricity
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wake — a trail
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wave — of the sea

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