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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. spring — the season
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — electricity
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. board — a committee
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. squash — to crush
  10. board — to get on
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. squash — the sport
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. rash — a series
  18. spring — of water
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. band — a music group
  21. charge — in control
  22. band — a ring
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. game — wild animals

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