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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fall — to drop
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. fall — the season
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chair — a leader
  12. kid — child
  13. band — a music group
  14. current — electric
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. band — a ring
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fall — to drop
  19. charge — electricity
  20. charge — a price
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. band — a rubber band

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