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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — for betting
  7. sharp — clever
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. charge — in control
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. band — a music group
  14. content — happy
  15. charge — a price
  16. band — a ring
  17. wound — an injury
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. content — the amount
  20. ball — a great time
  21. spring — the season
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. ball — a dance

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