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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. charge — electricity
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. spring — the season
  5. charge — in control
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. charge — a price
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitch — completely

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