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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. charge — a price
  5. game — wild animals
  6. season — of the year
  7. roll — a list
  8. season — in sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cap — a hat
  15. squash — the sport
  16. roll — a cake
  17. game — a match
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — of ice
  21. charge — in control
  22. track — a song
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cap — a lid

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