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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. charge — electricity
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. charge — in control
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. charge — a price
  16. kid — child
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cell — a phone

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