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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. key — for a lock
  3. charge — electricity
  4. court — of a king
  5. cold — not warm
  6. press — a publisher
  7. court — of law
  8. charge — in control
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. court — for sport
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. cold — an illness
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. charge — a price
  21. press — to push
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. rash — on the skin

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