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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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Word bank
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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. last — to go on
  7. press — newspapers
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. charge — a price
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. tube — the underground
  13. press — a publisher
  14. tube — a container
  15. pitch — completely
  16. last — final
  17. charge — in control
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. content — happy
  20. press — to push
  21. content — the amount
  22. tear — from crying
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. last — finally

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