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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. charge — electricity
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. clip — for paper
  5. shower — to wash
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cell — a phone
  8. clip — to cut
  9. charge — in control
  10. bore — to drill
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. chest — of your body
  13. charge — a price
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. shower — rain
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — a video
  21. plane — a tool
  22. chest — a box
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bore — to tire

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