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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · cell · march · leaves · pass · present · charge · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. charge — a price
  4. rest — a break
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cell — in biology
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. march — the month
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. march — the month
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cell — a phone
  15. charge — in control
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. present — there
  18. kid — child
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. march — music
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. charge — electricity

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