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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: cold · rock · staff · fall · charge · pop · dip · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pop — to visit
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. charge — electricity
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. staff — employees
  7. rock — a stone
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. last — final
  11. pop — soda
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — in control
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — to go on
  16. staff — a stick
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. dip — to sink
  20. staff — employees
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rock — music
  24. fall — to drop

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