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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. shower — to wash
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. content — happy
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. charge — a price
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bore — to drill
  12. charge — in control
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bore — to tire
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. content — the amount
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. pit — a hole
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. charge — electricity
  23. chip — for betting
  24. shower — rain

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