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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cold — not warm
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cell — in biology
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cell — a phone
  9. charge — in control
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. charge — a price
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mate — to breed
  19. charge — electricity
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. perch — for a bird

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