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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. charge — in control
  3. mine — for digging
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. charge — a price
  8. tube — a container
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kid — child
  13. charge — electricity
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chest — a box
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bat — the animal

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