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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — the amount
  5. band — a ring
  6. charge — a price
  7. mate — a friend
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. charge — in control
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wound — an injury
  14. content — happy
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. lean — thin
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. lean — to bend
  19. game — a match
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. band — a music group
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. mate — to breed

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