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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. content — happy
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — to protest
  5. field — farmland
  6. bat — the animal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. key — the most important part
  9. sharp — clever
  10. key — for a lock
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. charge — electricity
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. key — in music
  16. field — for sport
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. field — a subject
  20. object — an aim
  21. stem — to come from
  22. charge — in control
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. content — the amount

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