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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. charge — a price
  5. spring — a coil
  6. game — a match
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. press — a publisher
  9. capital — money
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spring — the season
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — a city
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. charge — electricity
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. press — to push
  19. cell — a phone
  20. spring — of water
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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