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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 116 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 · craft · cold · squash · wave · coach · club · cell

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. charge — a price
  3. craft — a skill
  4. club — a group
  5. squash — the sport
  6. charge — electricity
  7. club — for golf
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. craft — boats
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — in biology
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. squash — to crush
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cell — in a prison

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