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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. squash — the sport
  4. charge — electricity
  5. tube — the underground
  6. kick — in football
  7. pop — to visit
  8. court — for sport
  9. game — a match
  10. board — to get on
  11. court — of a king
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pop — soda
  14. court — of law
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. tube — a container
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — in control
  24. kick — with a leg

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