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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. track — a path
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cold — not warm
  10. charge — a price
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. game — a match
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. charge — in control
  18. snap — to click
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. track — a song
  23. game — wild animals
  24. track — to keep track

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