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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. content — happy
  3. spring — of water
  4. content — the amount
  5. charge — in control
  6. degree — temperature
  7. shower — rain
  8. bank — of a river
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. charge — electricity
  16. shower — to wash
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bank — for money
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bank — for money
  22. spring — the season
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. last — finally

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