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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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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. content — happy
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. mine — for digging
  6. file — a document
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. file — a line of people
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. charge — a price
  15. craft — a skill
  16. chair — a leader
  17. craft — boats
  18. content — the amount
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. file — a tool
  21. charge — in control
  22. current — of water
  23. current — electric
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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