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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: cell · lash · game · cap · pass · chair · mate · charge

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cell — a phone
  3. game — a match
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mate — a partner
  7. charge — in control
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. charge — electricity
  14. charge — a price
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. mate — to breed
  19. cap — a hat
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mate — a friend
  22. cell — in biology
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cap — a lid

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