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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. charge — electricity
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cap — of ice
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bank — for money
  10. shower — rain
  11. charge — in control
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. content — happy
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — of a river
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. charge — a price
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. content — the amount
  22. row — to paddle
  23. plane — a tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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