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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — to be able to
  5. shower — to wash
  6. tube — a container
  7. charge — in control
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. lie — to recline
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — thin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. charge — a price
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. shower — rain
  22. mine — for digging
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. can — a tin

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