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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · arm · roll · pop · fall · charge · hand · spell

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hand — in cards
  3. charge — in control
  4. fall — to drop
  5. charge — a price
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chair — a leader
  10. roll — a list
  11. spell — letters
  12. roll — a cake
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pop — soda
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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