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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spring — a coil
  5. staff — employees
  6. charge — a price
  7. charge — in control
  8. pop — music
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pop — soda
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. spring — the season
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pop — to visit
  18. staff — a stick
  19. spring — of water
  20. staff — employees
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. key — in music
  24. key — the most important part

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