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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. toast — bread
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wound — an injury
  10. swing — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. charge — a price
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. chair — a leader
  23. charge — in control
  24. hide — animal skin

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