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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. charge — in control
  4. dip — to sink
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. tear — from crying
  7. land — a country
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. charge — a price
  12. game — a match
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tear — to rip
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. last — finally
  21. land — to come down
  22. game — wild animals
  23. dip — a sauce
  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