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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. charge — a price
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. charge — in control
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. drill — the tool
  13. board — a committee
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. board — to get on
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. mine — for digging
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. kick — in football
  22. drill — army training
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitcher — a jug

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