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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cell — a phone
  3. last — final
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. charge — in control
  6. staff — employees
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. last — to go on
  9. staff — a stick
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. game — wild animals
  12. row — a line
  13. cell — in biology
  14. last — finally
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. row — to paddle
  17. foot — a measure
  18. staff — employees
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. charge — a price
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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