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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 116 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cell — a phone
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. file — a tool
  5. charge — a price
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. charge — in control
  16. cell — in biology
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. shower — to wash
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. file — a document
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. charge — electricity
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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