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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. can — a tin
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. charge — electricity
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cell — in biology
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cell — a phone
  11. charge — in control
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tear — to rip
  14. court — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. charge — a price
  18. court — of a king
  19. can — a tin
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. sharp — clever
  23. court — of law
  24. chair — a leader

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