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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. content — the amount
  4. file — a tool
  5. present — a gift
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. file — a document
  11. craft — a skill
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. content — happy
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. present — there
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. charge — electricity
  19. charge — a price
  20. file — a line of people
  21. present — the time now
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. charge — in control

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