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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. charge — electricity
  4. rule — government
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. ball — a great time
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ball — a dance
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. cold — an illness
  15. scale — in music
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rule — a law
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. scale — size or range
  20. charge — a price
  21. cold — not warm
  22. charge — in control
  23. sharp — clever
  24. scale — for weighing

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