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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. charge — electricity
  3. stock — goods
  4. tear — from crying
  5. charge — in control
  6. pop — music
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pop — soda
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. content — happy
  13. stock — shares
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rush — hurry
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. charge — a price
  21. tear — from crying
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wake — a trail
  24. content — the amount

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