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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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Word bank
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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. charge — a price
  5. ground — crushed
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ground — a position
  8. cell — a phone
  9. game — a match
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. ground — the earth
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chair — a leader
  14. race — a contest
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. charge — electricity
  19. race — humankind
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. charge — in control
  22. cell — in biology
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chair — a professorship

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