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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cell — in biology
  5. land — to come down
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pop — music
  9. game — a match
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pop — soda
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. charge — a price
  15. land — ground
  16. cell — a phone
  17. land — a country
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bulb — for light
  21. charge — in control
  22. mate — a partner
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wound — an injury

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