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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. charge — in control
  3. game — a match
  4. roll — a list
  5. game — wild animals
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. pop — soda
  9. charge — electricity
  10. pop — music
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — to grow
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. cold — not warm
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ball — a great time
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pop — to visit
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. charge — a price
  24. roll — a cake

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