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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. kick — in football
  4. charge — a price
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. last — final
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — shares
  11. cold — not warm
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. stock — goods
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. content — the amount
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cold — an illness
  18. last — to go on
  19. mine — for digging
  20. content — happy
  21. last — finally
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. charge — in control

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