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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. row — to paddle
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. row — a line
  8. rest — a break
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bound — certain
  12. mine — for digging
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. charge — in control
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bound — obliged
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bound — tied together

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