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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 120 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. content — happy
  3. charge — electricity
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wake — a trail
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pop — soda
  8. charge — in control
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ground — a position
  11. content — the amount
  12. ground — the earth
  13. perch — the fish
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. charge — a price
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pop — music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — in golf
  21. pop — to visit
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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