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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. present — there
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. present — the time now
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. present — a gift
  11. net — for catching
  12. court — of law
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. game — wild animals
  15. charge — in control
  16. file — a document
  17. court — of a king
  18. game — a match
  19. file — a line of people
  20. net — in sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. file — a tool
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. net — after costs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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