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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rash — hasty
  8. charge — in control
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cell — in biology
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. can — a tin
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. charge — a price
  16. fall — to drop
  17. can — a tin
  18. rash — a series
  19. charge — electricity
  20. chair — a leader
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. fall — the season
  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