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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: coach · game · charge · arm · mine · rest · dip · cell

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. charge — a price
  5. game — a match
  6. charge — electricity
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rest — a break
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. charge — in control
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cell — in biology
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. game — a kind of play

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