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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. last — finally
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. band — a ring
  6. staff — a stick
  7. charge — electricity
  8. staff — employees
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. last — to go on
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a music group
  18. charge — in control
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. last — final
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. kid — child

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