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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. charge — a price
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pass — a permit
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. charge — electricity
  12. chest — a box
  13. bass — low music
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. chest — of your body
  17. board — a committee
  18. cold — an illness
  19. band — a ring
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. board — to get on
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. charge — in control

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