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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. chest — a box
  3. cell — a phone
  4. charge — a price
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. kid — child
  8. charge — in control
  9. pound — a weight
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. land — a country
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cell — in biology
  19. land — to come down
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. charge — electricity
  24. land — ground

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