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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mug — a cup
  3. spring — the season
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. spring — of water
  6. mug — to rob
  7. charge — a price
  8. content — happy
  9. charge — in control
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. content — the amount
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cap — a lid
  16. shower — rain
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — of ice
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mug — a face
  22. spring — a coil
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. shower — to wash

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