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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chest — of your body
  3. charge — electricity
  4. drill — a practice
  5. mark — a grade
  6. wake — a trail
  7. swing — music
  8. charge — in control
  9. swing — to play on
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. game — wild animals
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chest — a box
  16. swing — in golf
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mark — a trace
  20. cell — a phone
  21. charge — a price
  22. game — a match
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. drill — army training

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