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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 116 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. kid — child
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. charge — electricity
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bound — obliged
  9. row — to paddle
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. charge — in control
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bound — certain
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bound — tied together
  19. row — a line
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. charge — a price
  23. cell — in biology
  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