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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. charge — electricity
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. court — of a king
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. charge — a price
  9. foot — a measure
  10. deal — to handle
  11. court — of law
  12. cold — not warm
  13. saw — the tool
  14. court — for sport
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. chest — a box
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cold — an illness
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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