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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: straw · patient · object · plane · sharp · club · row · charge

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. charge — electricity
  4. club — for golf
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. object — a thing
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. charge — in control
  12. sharp — clever
  13. object — to protest
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. plane — a tool
  17. object — an aim
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. row — a line
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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