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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. charge — a price
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ball — a great time
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. cue — for pool
  8. field — for sport
  9. hand — in cards
  10. charge — in control
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. chest — of your body
  14. charge — electricity
  15. cue — a signal
  16. race — humankind
  17. hand — help
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mug — a cup
  20. ball — a dance
  21. race — a contest
  22. chest — a box
  23. mug — a face
  24. cue — a hint

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