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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. bass — low music
  3. content — the amount
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bass — the fish
  7. capital — money
  8. cue — a signal
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cue — a hint
  12. capital — a city
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. spring — a coil
  15. charge — electricity
  16. spring — the season
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. kid — to tease
  19. content — happy
  20. cue — for pool
  21. charge — in control
  22. kid — child
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. spring — of water

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