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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. court — for sport
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. charge — in control
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pop — soda
  13. game — a match
  14. pop — music
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. court — of law
  18. pop — to visit
  19. court — of a king
  20. game — wild animals
  21. charge — electricity
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. charge — a price

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