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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. charge — in control
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. content — happy
  17. pound — a weight
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. content — the amount
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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