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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. squash — the sport
  3. charge — electricity
  4. drill — army training
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bass — the fish
  10. charge — in control
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. drill — the tool
  16. season — of the year
  17. fall — to drop
  18. swing — music
  19. squash — to crush
  20. season — in sport
  21. drill — a practice
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the instrument

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