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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 · straw · fork · mug · dip · kid · cell · file

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fork — in a road
  3. mug — a face
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. charge — a price
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cell — in biology
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a cup
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. file — a document
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. kid — child
  20. dip — to sink
  21. charge — in control
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. file — a tool

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