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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 120 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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. field — farmland
  3. charge — a price
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. rule — a law
  7. swing — music
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. present — the time now
  10. rule — government
  11. bound — tied together
  12. field — a subject
  13. swing — to play on
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. present — a gift
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — for sport
  18. swing — in golf
  19. present — there
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — happy
  22. charge — in control
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. content — the amount

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