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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chip — for betting
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. charge — a price
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chip — to eat
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. charge — in control
  22. pitch — completely
  23. rest — a break
  24. cell — a phone

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