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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. kid — to tease
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cell — in biology
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. charge — in control
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cell — a phone
  15. charge — a price
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. swing — to play on
  18. race — the arms race
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. race — humankind
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. race — a contest
  24. nail — for a hammer

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