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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chest — of your body
  5. charge — electricity
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. charge — in control
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. net — for catching
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rest — a break
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. object — a thing
  14. net — after costs
  15. kid — child
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. object — an aim
  20. charge — a price
  21. net — in sport
  22. rest — what's left
  23. object — to protest
  24. calf — a young animal

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