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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. season — in sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — in control
  6. season — of the year
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cold — not warm
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cell — in biology
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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