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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. field — for sport
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. board — to get on
  6. charge — a price
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — farmland
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. charge — in control
  11. rash — hasty
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rash — a series
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. content — the amount
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. board — a committee
  18. kick — in football
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. field — a subject
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. charge — electricity

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