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

Word bank: charge · face · cap · squash · row · swing · jam · kid

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. swing — in golf
  3. charge — electricity
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. swing — to play on
  6. kid — child
  7. row — to paddle
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. charge — in control
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cap — a lid
  14. swing — music
  15. charge — a price
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cap — of ice
  18. squash — the sport
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cap — a hat
  21. row — a line
  22. face — to point toward
  23. squash — to crush
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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