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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. swing — to play on
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. race — a contest
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. charge — a price
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. race — humankind
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. press — to push
  17. charge — in control
  18. swing — in golf
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. wake — a trail
  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