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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 120 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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. charge — electricity
  5. mug — to rob
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mug — a face
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — from crying
  15. charge — in control
  16. mug — a cup
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pass — a permit
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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