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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: row · mouse · snap · pitch · stick · cold · tear · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. charge — in control
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. tear — to rip
  10. snap — to click
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. row — a line
  18. charge — a price
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. pitch — completely
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. mouse — for a computer

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