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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. charge — electricity
  4. present — there
  5. dip — to sink
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ground — crushed
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. shower — rain
  11. hand — in cards
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ground — the earth
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. ground — a position
  18. charge — in control
  19. hand — help
  20. charge — a price
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cell — in biology

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