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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. swing — to play on
  3. charge — electricity
  4. object — an aim
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. shower — rain
  8. charge — in control
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. swing — music
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — to protest
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. shower — to wash
  17. kid — child
  18. stock — goods
  19. content — the amount
  20. charge — a price
  21. swing — in golf
  22. stock — shares
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. content — happy

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