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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bound — tied together
  5. charge — a price
  6. shower — to wash
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pop — soda
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — a box
  12. pop — music
  13. charge — in control
  14. shower — rain
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pop — to visit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. race — humankind
  21. chest — of your body
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bound — certain
  24. race — a contest

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