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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · charge · toast · fork · rush · clip · lean · game

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. charge — electricity
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. chest — a box
  13. toast — bread
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. game — a match
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — a price
  19. game — wild animals
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rush — a thrill

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