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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. present — a gift
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. court — of a king
  8. net — for catching
  9. band — a ring
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. court — for sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. court — of law
  14. pop — music
  15. charge — in control
  16. band — a music group
  17. pop — to visit
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. present — there
  20. present — the time now
  21. net — in sport
  22. charge — a price
  23. net — after costs
  24. pop — soda

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