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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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Word bank
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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: date · cold · charge · bear · chip · sharp · track · mark

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mark — a grade
  4. date — the fruit
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bear — the animal
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mark — a trace
  14. track — a song
  15. cold — an illness
  16. charge — a price
  17. chip — to eat
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — for betting
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. charge — in control
  24. track — a path

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