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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cell — in biology
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pop — music
  7. present — the time now
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. present — a gift
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — in control
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. charge — electricity
  23. pop — to visit
  24. present — there

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