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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — a hat
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. mug — a face
  8. charge — a price
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cold — not warm
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. game — a match
  14. mug — a cup
  15. game — wild animals
  16. content — the amount
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. charge — electricity
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mug — to rob
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bank — for money

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