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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. charge — a price
  3. band — a ring
  4. can — a tin
  5. charge — electricity
  6. ground — a position
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. band — a music group
  9. content — happy
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. can — a tin
  12. rush — hurry
  13. can — to be able to
  14. clip — a video
  15. ground — the earth
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. clip — for paper
  18. charge — in control
  19. clip — to cut
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. ground — crushed
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. band — a rubber band

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