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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. charge — a price
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. club — for golf
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. face — to point toward
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — a group
  14. sharp — clever
  15. dip — to sink
  16. charge — in control
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. snap — to click
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. face — to confront
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. face — part of the head
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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