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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. cell — a phone
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. charge — in control
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spring — the season
  8. charge — electricity
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spring — of water
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ball — a great time
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pit — in a race
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pit — a hole
  19. ball — a dance
  20. hand — help
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. charge — a price

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