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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. charge — electricity
  3. club — for dancing
  4. charge — a price
  5. shower — to wash
  6. content — happy
  7. shower — rain
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. club — a group
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bore — to tire
  13. field — farmland
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. club — for golf
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bore — to drill
  23. charge — in control
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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