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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. land — a country
  3. charge — in control
  4. spell — a short time
  5. land — ground
  6. content — happy
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — a price
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. drill — army training
  14. shower — rain
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. content — the amount
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. spell — letters
  20. drill — the tool
  21. shower — to wash
  22. land — to come down
  23. spell — magic
  24. content — videos and posts

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