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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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Word bank
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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. pass — a permit
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — a price
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. field — a subject
  9. squash — the sport
  10. content — the amount
  11. field — for sport
  12. content — happy
  13. key — the most important part
  14. field — farmland
  15. squash — to crush
  16. chair — a leader
  17. saw — the tool
  18. charge — electricity
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. key — in music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. key — for a lock
  23. pass — to spend time
  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