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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. charge — in control
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chip — for betting
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bass — the fish
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bass — low music
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cell — in biology
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. charge — a price
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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