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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. spring — the season
  3. charge — a price
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. plane — a tool
  7. game — a match
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. swing — to play on
  12. charge — electricity
  13. squash — to crush
  14. rock — music
  15. file — a line of people
  16. squash — the sport
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rock — a stone
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. game — wild animals
  22. spring — of water
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — a coil

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