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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 124 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bound — certain
  3. race — a contest
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — not warm
  7. race — the arms race
  8. perch — the fish
  9. staff — employees
  10. charge — in control
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. charge — a price
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cold — an illness
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. staff — a stick
  20. kick — in football
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. race — humankind

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