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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wound — an injury
  5. key — in music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chair — a leader
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — in football
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. charge — in control
  17. wind — moving air
  18. charge — a price
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. key — the most important part
  23. sharp — clever
  24. kid — to tease

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