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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. court — of law
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. row — a line
  5. present — there
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — happy
  8. shower — rain
  9. cap — a hat
  10. court — for sport
  11. present — the time now
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cap — of ice
  14. present — a gift
  15. charge — electricity
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wind — moving air
  18. charge — in control
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cap — a lid
  21. content — the amount
  22. charge — a price
  23. court — of a king
  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