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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. season — of the year
  3. club — for golf
  4. spell — magic
  5. stock — shares
  6. club — a group
  7. charge — electricity
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. charge — a price
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. season — in sport
  12. spring — the season
  13. spell — letters
  14. scale — in music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. spring — a coil
  18. club — for dancing
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stock — goods
  21. kid — child
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. spring — of water

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