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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 116 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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. rest — a break
  3. charge — in control
  4. key — in music
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. branch — a division
  7. rest — what's left
  8. content — the amount
  9. charge — electricity
  10. band — a music group
  11. key — for a lock
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. content — happy
  16. stock — shares
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cold — not warm
  22. band — a ring
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. stock — goods

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