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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. content — the amount
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. content — happy
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. clip — to cut
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. charge — in control
  24. cell — a phone

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