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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 116 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fine — all right
  4. charge — electricity
  5. face — to confront
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — a price
  8. content — the amount
  9. face — part of the head
  10. prune — to trim
  11. content — happy
  12. last — finally
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. fall — to drop
  15. club — for golf
  16. prune — to trim
  17. face — to point toward
  18. fall — the season
  19. club — for dancing
  20. fine — high quality
  21. last — to go on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. last — final
  24. club — a group

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