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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. drill — the tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — wild animals
  5. charge — electricity
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. staff — employees
  9. drill — army training
  10. staff — a stick
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. scale — in music
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mine — for digging
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. staff — employees
  19. scale — size or range
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — a price
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bat — the animal

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