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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. stem — to come from
  3. rest — what's left
  4. charge — a price
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. land — a country
  9. track — to keep track
  10. vault — a safe
  11. charge — in control
  12. land — ground
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. band — a music group
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. track — a song
  19. rest — a break
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — a path
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. land — to come down

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