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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. charge — a price
  3. spell — letters
  4. chest — of your body
  5. court — of law
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of a king
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chest — a box
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. charge — electricity
  15. row — a line
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. chip — for betting
  19. court — for sport
  20. deal — to handle
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. charge — in control
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. row — to paddle

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