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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bear — the animal
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. tube — the underground
  6. court — of law
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. drill — army training
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. court — of a king
  15. rash — hasty
  16. scale — size or range
  17. tube — a container
  18. charge — in control
  19. drill — the tool
  20. scale — in music
  21. season — in sport
  22. rash — a series
  23. season — of the year
  24. charge — a price

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