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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hand — help
  3. mug — a face
  4. charge — a price
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. spell — a short time
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. field — for sport
  9. mug — a cup
  10. spell — magic
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. charge — in control
  13. mug — to rob
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. field — a subject
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. field — farmland
  22. spell — letters
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cabinet — ministers

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