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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. spring — of water
  3. charge — in control
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. charge — a price
  6. rule — a law
  7. squash — to crush
  8. spring — the season
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — certain
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. band — a music group
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bound — obliged
  18. band — a ring
  19. squash — the sport
  20. charge — electricity
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spring — a coil
  24. game — a match

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