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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — a cup
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. spell — letters
  7. charge — electricity
  8. charge — a price
  9. spell — a short time
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. chip — to eat
  12. degree — from a university
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mug — to rob
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. mug — a face
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. spell — magic
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. charge — in control
  24. bowl — a football final

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