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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. tube — a container
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — a price
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. present — a gift
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. game — a match
  9. present — there
  10. cold — an illness
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bulb — for light
  13. charge — electricity
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. spell — a short time
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tube — in a tire

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