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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. file — a line of people
  3. net — for catching
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. file — a document
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. net — after costs
  8. cold — an illness
  9. file — a tool
  10. charge — in control
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. cold — not warm
  18. charge — a price
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — finally
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. net — in sport

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