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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. ball — a dance
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. saw — the tool
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chest — a box
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fall — the season
  11. charge — in control
  12. ball — a great time
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. cold — an illness
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pass — a permit
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chest — of your body

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