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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hand — help
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bore — to drill
  7. present — a gift
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. present — there
  10. present — the time now
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wind — moving air
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. charge — in control
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. charge — a price
  24. wind — to turn a key

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