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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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Word bank
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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: foot · charge · row · cell · chest · leaves · land · straw

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cell — in biology
  3. land — ground
  4. chest — a box
  5. land — a country
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. land — to come down
  9. chest — of your body
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. foot — a measure
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. charge — in control
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. chest — of your body
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. charge — a price
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cell — a phone
  24. foot — part of the body

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