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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. board — a committee
  3. scale — in music
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. charge — electricity
  7. spring — a coil
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — a safe
  10. charge — in control
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. scale — size or range
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. spring — the season
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. board — to get on
  21. spring — of water
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. cell — in biology

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