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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 120 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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. chair — a leader
  4. band — a music group
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. charge — electricity
  7. court — for sport
  8. band — a ring
  9. game — wild animals
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — a match
  12. board — to get on
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. press — to push
  15. perch — the fish
  16. board — a committee
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. press — a publisher
  22. charge — in control
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. press — newspapers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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