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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mate — to breed
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. rest — a break
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. charge — in control
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. rest — what's left
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. stem — to come from
  13. game — a match
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. charge — a price
  16. swing — in golf
  17. last — finally
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rest — what's left
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mate — a partner
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — music

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