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

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. chip — for betting
  4. charge — in control
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bear — the animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. game — wild animals
  9. ball — a great time
  10. charge — electricity
  11. game — a match
  12. court — of a king
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. charge — a price
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. court — for sport
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ball — a dance
  23. court — of law
  24. chip — to eat

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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