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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. last — to go on
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. last — final
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pop — music
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. clip — a video
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. clip — for paper
  13. last — finally
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pop — soda
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a committee
  21. ball — a great time
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. ball — a dance
  24. charge — in control

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