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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. chest — a box
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. drill — army training
  6. key — the most important part
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — to eat
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mine — for digging
  11. charge — electricity
  12. kid — child
  13. charge — a price
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. key — in music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pitch — completely
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. key — for a lock
  21. charge — in control
  22. kid — to tease
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mine — an explosive

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