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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. drill — army training
  4. land — to come down
  5. court — of a king
  6. content — happy
  7. charge — in control
  8. rest — what's left
  9. land — ground
  10. charge — electricity
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — a country
  17. rest — a break
  18. mine — for digging
  19. court — of law
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. content — the amount
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. court — for sport

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