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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. charge — in control
  5. spring — a coil
  6. key — the most important part
  7. kid — child
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. charge — electricity
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bat — the animal
  14. key — for a lock
  15. spring — the season
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rest — what's left
  19. key — in music
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. content — happy
  24. spring — of water

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