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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. game — wild animals
  3. snap — to click
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. court — of a king
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. dip — to sink
  17. game — a match
  18. charge — in control
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. court — of law
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. swing — music
  23. court — for sport
  24. swing — in golf

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