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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rest — what's left
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — a price
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mug — to rob
  9. charge — in control
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. game — a match
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rest — a break
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. cell — in biology
  17. content — the amount
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mug — a face
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — for sport
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rest — what's left
  24. coach — a trainer

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