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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. charge — electricity
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tear — from crying
  6. track — a path
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. charge — a price
  10. track — to keep track
  11. charge — in control
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pop — music
  14. content — happy
  15. pop — soda
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mine — for digging
  20. content — the amount
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cap — of ice

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