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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. rush — hurry
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stand — to bear
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pound — a weight

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