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

Word bank: season · hand · mark · deal · club · mine · charge · file

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. charge — in control
  3. mark — a grade
  4. club — a group
  5. hand — help
  6. club — for dancing
  7. season — of the year
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. club — for golf
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mark — a trace
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. charge — electricity
  18. file — a tool
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. charge — a price
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. file — a document

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