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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rash — hasty
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. track — to keep track
  6. roll — a cake
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. roll — a list
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. charge — a price
  13. rule — government
  14. chest — a box
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. chest — of your body
  18. track — a song
  19. charge — in control
  20. rash — a series
  21. rule — a law
  22. chest — of your body
  23. snap — to click
  24. track — a path

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