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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. game — a match
  3. wound — an injury
  4. staff — employees
  5. mark — a grade
  6. staff — employees
  7. rule — a law
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spring — a coil
  10. charge — a price
  11. staff — a stick
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — an aim
  15. spring — of water
  16. charge — in control
  17. wound — an injury
  18. object — a thing
  19. rule — government
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. spring — the season
  24. mark — a trace

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