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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. content — happy
  3. charge — in control
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. capital — a city
  6. charge — electricity
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. drill — the tool
  9. content — the amount
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. hand — help
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. charge — a price
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. drill — army training
  24. capital — money

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