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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. charge — electricity
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rash — a series
  5. cell — in biology
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wound — an injury
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. charge — a price
  12. branch — a division
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. rash — hasty
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. sharp — clever
  20. charge — in control
  21. chest — of your body
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. chest — of your body

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