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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · hide · mine · jam · present · charge

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — there
  4. cold — an illness
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. charge — in control
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. present — a gift
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. jam — a tight spot

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