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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. charge — a price
  3. staff — a stick
  4. court — for sport
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. charge — electricity
  7. pop — music
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. row — to paddle
  11. pop — soda
  12. court — of law
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. row — a line
  15. staff — employees
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. court — of a king
  19. staff — employees
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pop — to visit
  23. charge — in control
  24. chip — to eat

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