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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. charge — in control
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — the amount
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. lean — to bend
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lean — thin
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. charge — a price
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. charge — electricity
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bat — the animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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