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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. net — after costs
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. charge — electricity
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. charge — in control
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. field — for sport
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — an illness
  18. charge — a price
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — farmland
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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