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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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468
Word bank
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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. drill — army training
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cell — a phone
  5. land — ground
  6. chest — a box
  7. land — a country
  8. root — of a plant
  9. kick — in football
  10. charge — electricity
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — the cause
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. drill — the tool
  18. charge — a price
  19. root — of a word
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. chest — of your body
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. charge — in control

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