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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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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. content — happy
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rest — what's left
  10. charge — in control
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. march — the month
  16. rest — a break
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rest — what's left
  20. squash — the sport
  21. content — the amount
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. march — music
  24. mine — for digging

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