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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. charge — electricity
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. charge — a price
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pop — music
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. chest — a box
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pop — soda
  22. game — wild animals
  23. chest — of your body
  24. charge — in control

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