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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. field — a subject
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. charge — in control
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. squash — the sport
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a great time
  10. pit — a hole
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. field — farmland
  16. charge — a price
  17. ball — a dance
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. pit — in a race
  21. squash — to crush
  22. game — wild animals
  23. field — for sport
  24. dip — to sink

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