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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. charge — in control
  3. ground — a position
  4. cell — in biology
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — in football
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. ground — crushed
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. ground — the earth
  18. shower — rain
  19. wind — moving air
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cell — a phone

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