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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. swing — to play on
  3. court — of a king
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. charge — a price
  6. spell — magic
  7. last — to go on
  8. squash — to crush
  9. last — final
  10. swing — in golf
  11. squash — the sport
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. charge — in control
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. charge — electricity
  17. cell — in biology
  18. swing — music
  19. scale — in music
  20. last — finally
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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