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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chip — to eat
  3. snap — to click
  4. stem — to come from
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — in control
  7. season — in sport
  8. charge — a price
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bound — obliged
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. chip — for betting
  24. shower — rain

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