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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. content — happy
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. rush — hurry
  9. march — the month
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — in control
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. tube — the underground
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. march — music
  21. rest — what's left
  22. march — the month
  23. charge — a price
  24. content — the amount

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