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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. charge — in control
  3. cell — a phone
  4. charge — a price
  5. date — the fruit
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cap — of ice
  10. court — for sport
  11. bore — to tire
  12. court — of law
  13. bore — to drill
  14. season — of the year
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. court — of a king
  19. cap — a lid
  20. charge — electricity
  21. wound — an injury
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. season — in sport

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