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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. charge — a price
  7. chip — for betting
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. rest — what's left
  11. field — farmland
  12. rest — a break
  13. charge — in control
  14. field — a subject
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. charge — electricity
  18. chip — to eat
  19. key — in music
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. field — for sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — the most important part

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