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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chip — for betting
  3. ball — a great time
  4. charge — a price
  5. pop — music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. scale — in music
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pop — to visit
  15. charge — electricity
  16. ball — a dance
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. charge — in control
  20. spring — the season
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. chip — to eat
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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