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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. swing — to play on
  3. object — to protest
  4. charge — electricity
  5. chest — of your body
  6. swing — music
  7. charge — a price
  8. net — in sport
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. object — a thing
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bound — certain
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. swing — in golf
  18. net — after costs
  19. mine — for digging
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — for catching
  24. charge — in control

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