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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. charge — electricity
  3. pit — a hole
  4. charge — in control
  5. shower — rain
  6. pound — a weight
  7. march — music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. capital — a city
  11. bound — certain
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — the month
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. charge — a price
  18. capital — money
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bound — obliged
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — to wash
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pound — to hit hard

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