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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. ball — a dance
  4. rock — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. court — of law
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. prune — to trim
  10. charge — in control
  11. season — of the year
  12. court — for sport
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rock — a stone
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. court — of a king
  24. calf — of the 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