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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 120 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. kid — child
  4. press — to push
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pound — a weight
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. charge — electricity
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. shower — to wash
  15. press — newspapers
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. charge — a price
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. shower — rain
  21. press — a publisher
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pound — to hit hard

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