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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cold — not warm
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. roll — a cake
  10. ground — a position
  11. charge — in control
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. board — to get on
  17. roll — a list
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chair — a leader
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. ground — the earth
  24. charge — a price

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