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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. charge — a price
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cold — an illness
  6. last — to go on
  7. charge — in control
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. lie — to recline
  11. band — a ring
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. last — final
  14. charge — electricity
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. cold — not warm
  18. band — a music group
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. staff — employees
  21. hand — in cards
  22. staff — employees
  23. last — finally
  24. lie — an untruth

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