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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. charge — electricity
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to drill
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kick — in football
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. charge — a price
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. charge — in control
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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