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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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Word bank
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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — in control
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. club — for dancing
  5. march — music
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. club — for golf
  10. wax — to grow
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. march — the month
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. club — a group
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cell — in biology
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. mine — for digging
  20. charge — a price
  21. chair — a leader
  22. march — the month
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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