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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cell — a phone
  9. charge — electricity
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cell — in biology
  17. charge — a price
  18. board — a committee
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. march — the month
  23. board — to get on
  24. charge — in control

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