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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 124 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — in control
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. press — a publisher
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wind — moving air
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — moving air
  11. charge — a price
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spring — the season
  15. kid — child
  16. spring — a coil
  17. track — to keep track
  18. press — to push
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. spring — of water
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. track — a song

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