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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. charge — electricity
  3. fall — the season
  4. land — a country
  5. field — a subject
  6. pop — soda
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cue — a hint
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. field — farmland
  13. cue — a signal
  14. charge — a price
  15. field — for sport
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. land — ground
  18. pop — music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. charge — in control
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. straw — a straw man

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