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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. rock — music
  3. hand — help
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cold — an illness
  8. charge — in control
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lean — thin
  12. lie — to recline
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. charge — a price
  15. rock — a stone
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pound — a weight
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. hand — in cards
  24. present — a gift

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