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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rock — music
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. charge — a price
  7. shower — rain
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bore — to tire
  10. charge — in control
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bore — to drill
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cell — a phone
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rock — a stone
  23. kid — child
  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