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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. charge — a price
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spell — letters
  5. charge — in control
  6. spell — magic
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. toast — bread
  10. scale — in music
  11. charge — electricity
  12. scale — size or range
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. court — for sport
  17. spell — a short time
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. ball — a dance
  21. squash — the sport
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. squash — to crush

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