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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. charge — in control
  3. toast — bread
  4. charge — a price
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pass — a permit
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cell — a phone
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. mine — for digging
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. saw — the tool
  19. charge — electricity
  20. cell — in biology
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wound — an injury

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