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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mate — a friend
  3. charge — electricity
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. content — happy
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pound — a weight
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bass — low music
  17. mate — to breed
  18. content — the amount
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. charge — in control
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. charge — a price

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