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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 120 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mine — for digging
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. spring — of water
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. charge — a price
  17. hand — help
  18. charge — electricity
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. spring — the season
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. fall — the season

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