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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. cap — a lid
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. staff — employees
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cap — of ice
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rush — hurry
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. staff — a stick
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — in control
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. staff — employees
  23. cap — a hat
  24. squash — to crush

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