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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rush — hurry
  7. charge — in control
  8. band — a ring
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. band — a music group
  12. charge — a price
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. swing — in golf
  17. kid — child
  18. march — the month
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. march — music
  23. charge — electricity
  24. march — the month

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