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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cell — a phone
  5. scale — size or range
  6. tear — from crying
  7. charge — a price
  8. cell — in biology
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mate — to breed
  11. charge — in control
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fork — in a road
  21. spring — a coil
  22. scale — in music
  23. charge — electricity
  24. tear — from crying

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