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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — in biology
  3. charge — electricity
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rest — what's left
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. key — for a lock
  9. wound — an injury
  10. charge — a price
  11. row — a line
  12. rest — what's left
  13. key — the most important part
  14. rest — a break
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pound — a weight
  17. key — in music
  18. charge — in control
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cell — in a prison

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