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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. tear — from crying
  3. charge — in control
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bound — obliged
  6. rest — a break
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rash — a series
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. charge — a price
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — tied together
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bound — certain
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chest — a box
  24. bass — the fish

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